Tem 4 Loev!
by taiyakisoba
Summary: A human college student finds himself falling in love with his unusual study-buddy, Sam the Temmie. But will the many differences between humans and monsters extinguish their romance before it's even begun?
1. Chapter 1

The first time I met Sam the Temmie was at a Studies in Human-Monster Interrelations lecture. I was in the back of the lecture theatre, having slunk in late after a few too many drinks at the campus bar and losing track of time. I couldn't skip any more lectures – we had to submit our major essay by the end of the week and Dr. Lefler was one of those professors who refuse to record their lectures and put them up on the internet.

I'd chosen the course as my compulsory elective since I'd heard it was a breeze. All I had to do was memorise a textbook and write a bunch of essays about how diversity was great and how monsters and humans had learned to put aside their differences and blah blah blah, easy A. Instead, I was met by a constant barrage of history and politics and philology and social semiotics. Lots of people dropped out. I was on the point of dropping out, too. It wasn't that I didn't find the course interesting, it's just that I've never been particularly academically gifted and I was totally overwhelmed.

But that day, while I was trying desperately to write down everything I thought was important as Lefler rambled on and on about the establishment of Old Home and its subsequent abandonment, I noticed her in the next row.

A Temmie.

I'd heard there was a Temmie taking our class but like I said, I'd skipped a lot of lectures and she wasn't in my tute group so I'd never seen her. There were a few other monsters doing the course – bunnies and dogs, mostly, but there was also a tsunderplane I'd seen a few times. Monsters and humans, despite their differences, were starting to get along together again, and I soon learned the monsters in the course hadn't taken it as an easy option – they were genuinely interested in furthering good human-monster relations. A few of the bunnies had already got a head-start by dating human boys, but this was balanced out with the fact that the guys were soon dumped. Bunnies will be bunnies, after all.

I'd never considered dating a monster, although it was hard not to ogle the bunnies. They were all stacked and with their curvy butts squeezed into yoga-pants they had a natural and relaxed sexiness that was hard for a guy to ignore. But being Mr. Average, I never got so much as a glance from them.

So when I noticed the Temmie a few rows down, I started watching her, wondering what a Temmie was doing at college. They were, after all, one of the more unusual kinds of monsters that had been thrust back into what had previously been a purely human world. The way they talked and their bizarre, hyperactive behaviour made it difficult not to laugh at them.

The Temmie was leaning over her desk and writing madly with the crayon in her mouth. When Lefler said something, she listened intently, her pointy cat-ears tall and perky. Then she'd fall to writing, scribbling rapidly with her crayon in her notebook.

I found myself following her lead after a while. She seemed to have a good grasp on what we were supposed to be learning in this class. Well, she was writing a whole bunch of notes, at least.

I felt someone tap my shoulder and turned. It was Spence, a friend of mine – well, maybe not a friend exactly. Acquaintance, I guess you'd call him, or rather a drinking buddy. He must have snuck in without me noticing him.

The edge of his thin lips curled up in a smile and his watery blue eyes sparkled. "You've been staring at that Temmie for a while now, bro. You know her?"

I shook my head. "I just noticed she's writing a lot," I said.

Spence sucked his teeth. "Temmies can't write, dude. She's just drawing pictures." He leaned closer. "She's one of the first Temmies to get accepted at a human college, you know."

"She must be smart then," I said.

He chuckled. I didn't like the sound. "Bro, you're so naive. it's just that whole equal-opportunity thing. The university gets a bunch of money for every minority or monster they let in. Lefler will pass her even if all she hands in is a notebook full of love-hearts and rainbows."

Annoyed, I said nothing and went back to taking notes. The little Temmie was writing twice as fast now. Damn, I must have missed something important.

Suddenly her crayon snapped. She looked back and forth in a panic, then ducked her head down beside her desk and brought up a pencil case in her mouth. She placed it on her desk, grabbed the zipper in her teeth and pulled.

The case exploded. Crayons and pencils and erasers and correction tape flew everywhere.

The little creature's eyes boggled out of her head. With a cry of "UwwWa uWwa uwawaw!" she leaped out of her seat and began desperately picking up the crayons nearest to her. The whole theatre turned to watch.

Lefler had stopped talking. He was watching too, hands folded, as the Temmie, now on all fours, pursued a crayon rolling down the steps along the theatre's edge. A ripple of laughter spread through the hall, accompanied by whispers and giggles.

I glanced behind me. Spence was sniggering, but when he saw the look on my face he stopped and shrugged.

"Temmies, man. What can I say?"

I glanced back at the Temmie. She was trying to put the crayons back in her pencil case but every time she dropped a mouthful in, several would slip out and roll away. The little creature looked up, mortified, blushing right to the tips of her dog and cat ears.

It was then that I saw her face clearly for the first time. It was a Temmie face, of course, open and wide-eyed and childish, with an even more bewildered look on it than they usually have. Her cat ears pricked up at the scattered laughter and then folded back as her face fell in humiliation.

I got out of my seat and pushed my way to the edge of the theatre. "Here," I said kneeling beside her. "Let me help you with those."

The Temmie gaped up at me in alarm, but when I showed her the handful of crayons I'd already found, the shocked O became an embarrassed smile. She fumbled her pencil case open and I put the crayons inside.

We soon collected all of her scattered stationery. As she zipped up her pencil case she looked up at me, her face a mixture of relief and embarrassment. "Thanks," she whispered.

I smiled at her and stood up, towering over her. Damn, Temmies really were short. She barely came up to my chest. She was a full grown Temmie, right?

The little creature blinked up at me and I realised I was standing there staring like a moron. She gave me another awkward smile then slipped past me and climbed back into her seat.

Lefler started shuffling his notes at the lectern. "So, If I'm free to continue-"

I noticed then that everyone had turned their attention to me. Whispered laughter spread across the theatre. Humiliated, I slunk back to my seat and threw myself back into taking notes. 

* * *

When the lecture finished, I grabbed my stuff and stood up, wanting to ditch Spence and get away before anyone else noticed me. I looked down to where the Temmie was sitting. She was busy shoving her notes into her backpack when she turned and saw me halfway out of my seat looking at her. Her beady little eyes went wide and she swept her backpack onto her back and bounded down the steps on all fours, her tail between her legs.

I watched her go, wandering what the hell was wrong with her. Great. I'm sure a lot of people saw that, too. Last time I bother to help a monster.

Spence placed his hand on my shoulder. "Temmies, bro. Let's go get a drink."

I needed one so I didn't say no.

As I sat there in the uni bar with some of my regular drinking buddies, I nursed my bourbon and coke and thought about what had happened. Why the hell had she run away? Just embarrassed, probably. You made a big deal about helping her. You should have just let her collect her crayons by herself.

But no… I had visions of her trying to get the crayons back into the case and fumbling them over and over again, like Sisyphus trying to push that boulder uphill only to have it roll back down. No, I'd done the right thing, even if I had ended up looking like a retard because of it.

"What's on your mind?" asked Ash. He was a friend of mine from high school. He was studying medicine and we only ever got to catch up over a quick drink in the bar. He was there with his girlfriend Hannah, who like me and Spence was also taking Studies in Human-Monster Interrelations. She hadn't been at the lecture, since every second week they clashed with her anthropology tute.

"Still thinking about that Temmie, huh?" said Spence, jogging me in the ribs as he sat down with his pretentious hand-crafted IPA bullshit beer.

"Which Temmie?" asked Ash.

Spence explained the story to everyone's amusement and my horror. I sat there and took the ribbing. Fighting back would just let them know it was bothering me.

"Oh," said Hannah, who'd been listening the whole time. "That's Sam the Temmie."

"You know him?" said Ash.

"Him?" A grin broke across Spence's face. "Wait. He's a boy Temmie?" He turned to me, his eyes gleaming, and my heart sank. "Oh man, that's just too perf-"

"Don't be dumb," said Hannah, coming to my rescue. "Sam's a girl. You've seen her wearing ribbons in her hair, right? Temmies on the Surface take human names and they sometimes don't realise they've chosen a name for the opposite sex. In their own culture they're all called Temmie, after all." She frowned. "Dr. Lefler mentioned that in last week's lecture. Were you even paying attention?"

Spence grinned and shrugged and I realised I mustn't have been paying attention at the time, either. So her name was Sam. Well, Temmie, but her human name was Sam. And Sam could be a girl's name, so it wasn't really such a bad choice at all.

Sam the Temmie. It was a cute name, actually.

"How do you know her?" I asked.

"'She's my friend Lavender's room-mate," replied Hannah.

"Lavender? That bunny-girl who works at the cafe?" said Spence, leaning across the table. "Hey, you don't think you could introduce me to her, could you?"

Hannah snorted. "You wouldn't know what to do with her." Then she smiled at me. "But maybe I will. Then you four could go on a double date."

I blinked. "What?"

"Well, Sam is single, like you."

"Oh no," I said. "No. I think I've had enough ribbing for one day." I finished my drink and wiped my mouth. "I have to go to the library. I've got an essay to research."

Hannah smiled apologetically and I left them all laughing about something else. I suppose all the humour at my and Sam's expense had been exhausted.

I wasn't just making an excuse, though. I really did need to hit the books. 

* * *

I couldn't find the book I needed anywhere so I checked the catalogue. Nope, it wasn't checked out. That meant someone, somewhere had to be reading it.

I sighed and decided to go looking. I really only needed a few references from it, so hopefully whoever had it wouldn't have a problem letting me borrow it for a moment.

I was only a few minutes into my search when I stumbled upon Sam again, sitting at a desk in the corner near the periodicals. She was deep in her reading and every now and again she'd take up her crayon in her mouth, scribble some notes then go back to reading.

I remembered then what Spence had said about her drawing pictures and still being able to graduate and I frowned. But the frown didn't stay on my face long. As I approached I noticed Sam was sitting on a thick book that allowed her to lean over the desk without standing on her hind feet, much like a little kid sitting on a booster-seat at an adult table.

It was then that Sam noticed me. I was in the middle of smiling to myself about how adorable she looked when I felt her eyes flick towards me. Her expression shifted to one that can only really be described as terror: her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, totally open, floating beneath her face as only a Temmie's mouth seems able to do. The crayon she was holding fell from her mouth, rolled across the floor and stopped at my feet.

I picked it up sheepishly. God, now she thought I was some kind of creepy stalker or something. Her expression certainly said that.

I placed the crayon on her desk and saw the book she was reading. It was the book I needed – "Challenges in Monster-Human Social Interactions: A Case Study". I felt like laughing at how suddenly appropriate the title was.

"Uh," I said, desperately wanting to be out of this situation as quickly as possible. "Hi. I was wondering if, uh, if I can borrow that book for a while."

Sam stared at me, having lost none of that deer-in-the-headlights look she had. "You… you want to borrow the book?"

It was my turn to stare. I'd expected to have to deal with Temmie-speak, but she spoke English perfectly with only a slight accent. "Uh, yeah."

"O-okay," she said. She closed the book with her nose, picked it up between her paws and offered it to me. "I was almost finished using it anyway."

I felt bad. "Hey, wait. I only need it for a few minutes. I just need to check some references."

"Oh," said Sam. She put the book back down.

I smiled at her. "I don't want to steal the book from you. You seem to be hard at work."

Sam followed my eyes and looked down at her notes. Despite writing with crayon, she wrote small and neat. They were orderly notes, completely different from my own chaotic scrawl. I thought again about what Spence had said about Sam sitting in lectures and drawing pictures. His offhand prejudice and how readily I'd believed it made me flush guiltily.

"Uh, this'll just take a moment." I said. "I'll just…" I grabbed a chair from an empty desk nearby. Sam made space for me beside her and I sat down. She still seemed very nervous. Well, she had every reason to be. I was acting like a total social reject.

I smiled at her in an attempt to reassure her. "Thanks for this. I won't take long."

"D-don't rush," she said, managing a shy smile back.

I quickly found the references I needed, wrote them down then closed the book. Sam glanced up at me from reading her own notes. "You're already finished?"

"Yeah," I said, getting up. "I really should take better notes. Lefler said he'd fail me if I didn't have a complete bibliography this time."

Sam nodded, her dog-ears flapping. "Dr. Lefler's really scary, isn't he?"

She seemed a little less freaked out now and so I decided to go while I still had some dignity. "I won't disturb you any longer. Have fun, and thanks again, Sam."

She blinked at me. "You- you know my name?"

"Of course," I said. Then the smile slipped from my face. Damn it. Now she'd really think I was stalking her! "Uh, my friend Hannah is a friend of your room-mate Lavender's. She told me your name was Sam. Your human name, I mean. She said your monster name is Temmie."

God, I was babbling like an idiot.

A quizzical look passed over Sam's face. "Yes. Temmie is my real name. All Temmies are called Temmie."

"Doesn't that get confusing?" I asked, happy for the chance to salvage the situation.

Sam brought a paw to her mouth. "Not really. We recognise each other, just like humans do. I guess we must all look the same to humans, though, right?"

"Oh, no, no," I said. "I- Well, I'd never really met a Temmie before I met you, so I don't really know."

"Oh," said Sam. "Well, it's why we take human names on the Surface. Humans sometimes find it hard to tell the difference between us. I decided on Sam."

"It's a nice name," I said.

Sam looked down at her notes. Her ears had turned pink and I realised she was trying to hide a blush. When she looked back up at me her beady little eyes were gleaming. "Thank you. I'm sure your name is nice too." She blinked. "What is your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

My name? Oh god. My stomach lurched. This whole time I'd been talking to her and I hadn't even introduced myself. I told her my name and held out my hand.

Sam stared at my hand, then with an "Oh!" of realisation she placed her paw on it. I shook it while she watched, seemingly fascinated by the whole ritual.

Her paw was warm, the pads even softer than the satin-softness of her fur. Sam smiled at me shyly and I realised I was still holding onto her paw even though we'd finished shaking hands. I let go.

"It's very nice to meet you, –" said Sam, slowly pronouncing my name as though afraid she'd get it wrong. "Did I get that right?"

I chuckled. "Yeah." I'd never thought of my name as a hard one to pronounce, but then, she was a monster and a Temmie.

"Um. I forgot something too," said Sam. "I forgot to thank you for helping me out earlier."

"Earlier?"

She looked awkward. "When I dropped my crayons?"

"Oh yeah. Don't worry about it. It was no problem," I said. "Thanks for lending me the book. I'll get out of your hair now."

Sam blinked and lifted a paw to her hair. She wore it in that slightly wavy bob that all Temmies wear.

"Uh, it's just a turn of speech," I said. "It means to stop troubling someone."

"Really?" said Temmie, her eyes brightening. "Figurative language, right?" She rummaged around in her backpack for a different notebook, opened it with her nose and snatched up her crayon in her teeth. "Let me write it down: '...to get out of someone's hair.' And it means to stop troubling someone." She stopped writing and looked up at me. "Oh, but you weren't troubling me. I'm happy I got the chance to thank you properly for earlier."

She grinned, then. It was different from her earlier nervous smiles. It was bright and huge and made her face light up as though it was a poker machine and you'd just won the jackpot. A gorgeous grin, genuine and so cheerful your heart just had to play along and overflow with happiness. It was impossible not to grin back.

Sam… actually, it wasn't just her name that was cute.

The thought jumped into my head so unexpectedly that the grin slipped from my lips. Sam cocked her head and looked at me quizzically.

I had to get out of here before I made an even bigger ass of myself by saying something irredeemably stupid. "Well, see you around," I said quickly. "At the next lecture I guess."

Sam nodded. "It's tomorrow, isn't it?"

"See you then," I said.

"Bye!" She waved a paw at me.

As I hurried from the library I noticed my heart was racing. What the hell was going on? I wasn't usually so awkward around people.

Well, for one thing, Sam wasn't a person. She was a monster. But it's not like she was a moldsmall or one of those other alien looking monsters. She was a Temmie. How could a little cat-dog person make you nervous? I really had no excuse.

But despite my lingering embarrassment, I still couldn't get the memory of that jackpot grin of hers out of my head. 

* * *

I was careful not to miss the next lecture. I quickly found my seat beside Spence and Hannah.

"Here he is," said Hannah. "So you finally decided to get serious about the course?"

"Yeah," I said, glancing around the theatre at the people and monsters already seated and those still taking their seats.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked.

"No one," I said.

"Yeah," said Spence, elbowing me. "No one the Temmie."

"Oh shut up," I said.

After a while Dr. Lefler came in and I realised Sam probably wasn't coming. She didn't seem the kind to come to a lecture late. I sighed and sat back. Now I was stuck here, taking notes.

By the end of the lecture I had several pages of notes, far more than the handful I usually make. Hannah glanced across at my notebook.

"Wow. And they're actually almost legible," she said. "You must be really interested in assortativity."

"What's not to be interested in?" I said, not much enjoying her teasing. I shuffled my notes into order and stood up.

Spence put his hand on my shoulder. "Want to join us for a couple of drinks, bro?"

"Not today," I said. "I'm really behind on my essay."

I high-tailed it over to the library. Maybe I'd run into Sam there. She might have been studying and forgotten we had a lecture.

But she wasn't there either.

I did some research for my essay, but quickly tired of it. I considered going and finding Hannah and Spence and having that drink, but I didn't feel like being the butt of any more teasing right now, so I made for the cafe instead. I'd have a few coffees and work on this essay. Maybe, away from my computer and all the stuff in my apartment I'd be able to concentrate for once.

I sat down and got my notes out. Lefler had said a bunch of stuff I hadn't really understood – probably he was referring back to something he'd covered in one of those lectures I'd missed – and I was still there puzzling over them and trying to read my writing when I heard a clatter.

I looked up. A waitress had dropped something a few tables away and was bent over, picking it up. She must be pretty short, since the back of the empty chair on the other side of my table kept me from catching more than just a glimpse of her black and white uniform.

When she stood up though I knew immediately it was Sam. Even facing away from me there was no mistaking her long puffy tail and her double set of ears, the floppy dog ears and those perky cat ones. They didn't look so perky right now, though, as she struggled to replace the crockery and cutlery on her tray.

She turned around. Dressed in her waitress blacks and with her hair pulled back off her forehead in a little ponytail she looked different, but that look of bewilderment was unmistakable. Then she caught me looking at her and the bewilderment turned to shock. She almost dropped her tray again, managing to steady it, then turned and fled back into the cafe.

Awesome. Great. Nice work, you idiot. Every girl loves getting gawked at while they're feeling awkward!

But my happiness at finding her quickly overcame my embarrassment.

That was right. I was happy to see her. As I sat there, oddly nervous, watching the back of the crowded cafe for any sign of her reappearing, I realised I'd spent the entire day looking for her. I tapped my pen on my notebook and stared down at my notes, unable to read them. I'd been looking for her, and now I'd found her I was almost dizzy with happiness.

But when she didn't return, that happy warmth turned to ice in my stomach. Shit. She wasn't coming back. First the library and now this. For sure she thought I was stalking her. Damn it.

But wait, wasn't I stalking her?

No, not intentionally. Finding her in the cafe had been a coincidence. I hadn't known she worked here. But she wouldn't know that. She probably thought I'd been asking around about her, where she worked, where she lived…

I was still busy sperging out when a shadow slid across my open notebook.

I looked up, my heart racing, expecting to see Sam. Instead it was a bunny. I recognised her straight away from her pale purple fur and the huge boobs pushing out the cafe's embroidered name on the front of her black apron.

"Lavender?"

Lavender recognised me and smiled. "Oh hi! You're Hannah's friend, right? How's everything?"

"Good," I said, not really meaning it. I glanced behind her, looking for Sam. It was hard to make out anyone in the crowded cafe and I had no idea if she was even still back there. Lavender blinked at me and for a moment I was going to ask after Sam, but I decided not to. They were flatmates, right? I'd already screwed things up with Sam far enough and I didn't want to give off any more creepy vibes by asking after her.

I smiled at Lavender apologetically. "I didn't know you worked at this cafe."

Lavender snorted. "Slave, you mean. It's only work if you get paid properly." She tapped her little notepad and grinned. "So what would you like, sir?"

I ordered my usual, a tall macchiato.

"Coming right up." Lavender went to go, then turned back, glanced around, and leaned in closer to me. "Hey, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

With her ample chest plopped down in front of me it took all my willpower to keep looking into her wide violet eyes.

I swallowed. "Ask away."

"Are you single?"

My heart skipped and I told her that I was. I'd been single for a while now.

"Is that so? Interesting." She pulled her boobs away, smiling. "Your coffee will be right up."

I watched her go. Spence was not wrong, she was more than generously blessed in both the boob and butt department. But as I watched her little bob-tail wiggle away, I was reminded me of Sam's longer, puffier tail. I wondered if she ever wagged it when she was happy, like a dog did. Then I felt kind of guilty for thinking of her that way. Dr. Lefler's words echoed in my head: "Despite resembling surface animals in some outward cosmetic respects, monsters are completely genetically unrelated to them." After the lecture I'd read up a little bit about it. Apparently their appearance was due to something called 'convergent evolution', so it really was just a coincidence that the bunnies looked liked bunnies and acted like bunnies. I couldn't really get my head around it. But then, every kind of monster used the names humans had given them before the war, when we'd all lived on the Surface together. It was pretty confusing. Maybe it'd be better if they used their native names instead.

I started scribbling down my thoughts. Some of this stuff might come in useful for my essay.

I was still scribbling when I heard a clatter of crockery and glanced across to see a tray with a tall glass on it hovering near my table.

"Your tall macchiato, sir."

It wasn't Lavender's voice. I looked properly, then. Sam was holding the tray above her head, a nervous smile on her face.

She took hold of the glass with a paw and despite looking like she'd drop it from her nervousness, with my help she somehow got it onto the table without spilling anything.

"Sorry," she said. "Holding glasses can be a bit tricky at times. Mugs and cups are easier, but..." Her voice trailed off.

"Thanks," I said, feeling as awkward as she had when she'd handled the glass. "So, uh… I guess you missed the lecture today, right?"

Sam nodded. "I was offered an extra shift here at the cafe and I kind of need the money."

"Tell me about it," I said. I thought back to how much money I'd blown last week, which meant I'd be eating instant ramen for the rest of the month. This coffee was going to be the last luxury for a little while. "Hey, since you missed the lecture, maybe you'd like to borrow my notes?"

Sam's shy smile burst into a cheerful beam and she nodded her head up and down, her floppy ears flapping. She glanced down at my open notebook. "Oh, is that what you're working on?"

"What? Nah," I replied. "This is that essay we have to do on Pre-New Home Conceptualisations of SAVE."

"Oh," said Sam, frowning. "But isn't that due this Thursday?"

"Yeah," I said, looking sheepish. "I guess I just let all my work pile up on me."

Sam looked down at the empty tray she was now holding flat against her apron. "Um, if you like, I can help you with it. Your essay, I mean. You know, to pay you back… for borrowing your notes."

I was about to reply that she didn't need to and that I was happy to lend them to her, but I really did need help with that damn essay. "That would be great," I said.

Again she beamed that jackpot smile at me. "Great!" she echoed. "You'll have to let me know when you're free and I'll-" A bell chimed from the cafe and she gave a little gasp. "Oh! I have to go. I have orders waiting for me."

She bustled away.

As I finished my coffee I watched Sam tend the tables. She was a hard worker, that was for sure, the exact opposite of me, and she seemed to take a lot of pride in her work.

When I went to pay for my coffee, though, I found Lavender manning the counter.

"Sam's busy, so she asked me to give you this," she said, handing me a piece of paper with my change. On it was a cell-phone number, written in crayon.

I looked around. Sam was busy clearing a table. I wanted to say goodbye to her but that would have meant hanging around and looking weird, so I waved to her instead. She smiled and went to wave back, but in doing so a glass slipped off her tray. She gasped and lunged for it, her foreleg stretching out like rubber as her paw darted down, turned 90 degrees and snatched the glass out of the air just before it hit the ground. Blushing, she replaced the glass and finished waving goodbye to me.

Hiding my shock as best I could, I grabbed up my notes and got the hell out of there.

As I sat by the fountain on the main avenue of the campus I stared at the number. What the hell was I doing? Sam was a Temmie. She wasn't a bunny who, for all their incidental cosmetic differences as Dr. Lefler would say, more or less resembled a human. Sam was little over half my height and when she wasn't carrying anything she ran around on all fours. When her jaw dropped or her face fell, it literally did, right off her head. And those arms and legs of hers could stretch out at incredible distances at will, a fact I'd just been reminded of.

She was a Temmie, and Temmies were weird.

But why, then, this strange tightness in my chest whenever I thought of her?

Dude, get a grip. You're just going to study with her. It's not like you're going to sleep with her or anything.

Sleeping with Sam. How the hell would that work, exactly? I was pretty sure she had all the parts of a female mammal, but she was so small. She'd have to be on top, probably, or maybe doggy style would work. Her pouffy tail might get in the way, though.

Jesus. I shook my head. I really did need to meet someone if I was getting worked up thinking about such weird stuff. I looked at the number again and sighed, wishing it was Lavender's instead. 

* * *

I waited a few hours before I messaged Sam. I didn't want her to think she'd freaked me out, even if she had. I told her when I was free and asked her when she'd like to meet up.

"How about tomorrow afternoon?" came her response. It was liberally peppered with emojis, like a teenage girl's text, and I smiled to myself. It was pretty cute, actually.

"It's a date," I typed and sent the message off without thinking. After a while I got a message back.

"A date?" followed by a bunch of quizzical dog and cat emoji.

Oh shit. I should have known better than to use figurative language with someone for who English wasn't their first language!

"Haha, sorry," I quickly messaged back. "Just another figure of speech."

I didn't get a response back for a while, but then I got a cat smiley face so I knew everything was fine.

The next afternoon I turned up at the library around ten minutes before we were scheduled to meet. Sam was already there, taking notes from a book. She looked a bit different and as I walked up to her I looked her over trying to figure out what it was.

Oh yeah. She had ribbons in her hair. Hadn't Hannah said something about that before? She was dressed differently, too. She wasn't wearing that striped t-shirt which seemed to be the uniform of Temmies everywhere, and was Instead wearing a dress, though it sported the same yellow and blue stripes as her usual t-shirt. She must have just come from lunch with friends or something.

Sam spotted me and her face lit up. She waved and I waved back.

"Sorry I'm late," I said. Then I remembered I was ten minutes early and stood there stupidly wondering what you say to excuse yourself when you make this sort of mistake, but nothing came.

Sam looked suddenly shy. "I- I got off my shift early," she replied to a question I hadn't asked. It really was like we were having two different conversations that were only tangentially related. But before I could dwell on it too much, she touched the cuff of my shirt with her paw. "I found some really good books for your essay. They're in the reference section."

Sam really knew her way around the library. She'd made a little list of the call numbers of the books she thought might be useful and had no trouble finding them. Some were on high shelves though, and when we came up to one the first time, I moved to get it for her, mindful of how short she was. But Sam just laughed and reached out with her paw, stretching it all the way up to the top shelf.

I stood there, mouth agape, as her paw retracted. Even after seeing her do something similar at the cafe it was still amazing.

"Wow," I said, articulate as always. I took the book from her.

Sam smiled sheepishly. "Oh, it's nothing special. All Temmies can do it."

"Does it hurt?"

Sam shook her head. "Oh no. I guess…. I guess it just feels like what you feel when you stretch out your arm to get something."

Magic. It was a hell of a thing. "I'm envious," I said.

Sam looked up at me and blinked. "Oh, but you're so tall you mustn't have any trouble reaching things."

"I'm not that tall," I replied with a laugh. "I'm pretty average for a human, actually."

Sam nodded, and again flashed me that shy smile of hers.

When we arrived at the study area I thumped the big pile of books down on an empty desk. On top of each other they were taller than Sam was.

I sat down. Just how tall was Sam? When she was on her hind legs, around four foot, maybe?

Sam lifted one of the bigger books we'd borrowed, placed it on the chair, puffing, and climbed on top of it so that she was level with the desk.

"I found some really good information on culturemes in here," she said, pulling another book to her and flipping through the pages until she found the place she wanted.

I sat down beside her.

After a while I noticed she was squinting at the page. She brought her face closer and muttered to herself, but then she sighed and turned to reach into her backpack.

"Please don't laugh," she said, her face serious. She took out some glasses – thick ones with black rims – and put them on.

I have to admit I stared. Resting on her little button nose, they made her dark, liquid eyes look huge. She actually looked pretty cute in them.

Sam met my gaze, but quickly looked away. "I know. They make me look like a nerd, right?"

"What? No, they totally suit you."

She glanced back at me. "You really think so?"

I nodded. "I didn't know you wore glasses."

"Just when I'm reading. I'm a bit long-sighted."

"Oh." So Temmies have the same kind of problems we have. I was already learning stuff. Dr. Lefler would've been proud.

We got down to work. Sam was a great help with my essay. She helped me to structure it properly and gave me some pointers about supporting my thesis with stronger evidence. With her help I ended up scribbling down more than a dozen pages of notes.

"You know, you really should be a tutor," I said to her. "This is the first time any of this stuff has made sense to me."

Sam blushed. "Oh, I guess I'm just interested in the subject. I've always been interested in humans, ever since I was a puppy."

"That so?" I sat back in my chair. "You guys were still really afraid of humans until Frisk came, right?

She blinked at me. "Frisk? Oh, that's the Royal Ambassador's name, isn't it?" She nodded, her ears flopping up and down. "Oh yes. My mom and dad used to tell me stories about humans, about how scary and dangerous they were. We were all really afraid. So when we came up onto the Surface, a lot of us expected to find horrifying creatures waiting for us." She smiled. "It seems really silly now."

I shook my head. "I don't think you were silly at all. We drove you guys underground and locked you up, don't forget. Humans are capable of some pretty terrible things."

"Monsters have done bad things too," said Sam.

"Yeah," I sighed. "But that's all in the past now, isn't it? I think we all get along fine now. I mean, look at the two of us."

Sam glanced up at me. Her black eyes glistened and she smiled and nodded. She reached out a paw and placed it on my hand.

I looked down at it. It was only the second time she'd touched me. The pads of her paw were as warm and soft as I remembered. Sure, it was a paw, but it was paw belonging to a kind, cute girl. It didn't make any difference that she was a monster, did it?

"The differences really don't matter, do they?" said Sam shyly, echoing my thoughts. "We can all be friends if only we-"

"Look at you two study-buddies!" came a disturbingly familiar voice.

I wheeled around to see Spence and Hannah appear from behind a nearby aisle. Spence came up and slapped me on the shoulder and turned his usual annoying grin in Sam's direction. Sam glanced at me and smiled nervously.

Spence leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Doing your part for human-monster relations, huh?"

I shrugged, not wanting to give him any ammunition for his teasing, especially with Sam close by.

Sam, seeking out a friendly face, had turned to Hannah. "Y- you're Hannah, right? Lavender's friend?"

Hannah smiled at her. "I am. You're Sam, right? I'm sorry I haven't said hi before."

"Wait," said Spence. "You know Lavender, don't you Sam?"

The use of her name seemed to alarm the little creature. "O-oh. Yes. Lavender and I are r-room-ma-"

"She's single, right?"

Sam frowned. "Oh, I don't know if-"

"Well, put in a good word for me, okay? I'd love to meet her." And with that Spence reached over and patted Sam on the head.

The gesture was subconscious on Spence's part, I think, like when you pat a kid on the head, but Sam's eyes went wide with alarm. She slammed her book shut, slipped it into her backpack and hopped off her chair.

"I- I have to go."

"Hey wait," said Spence, stealing my line. "Don't you want to come and get a drink with us?"

"I'm sorry, I- I just have to go." Sam swung her backpack over her shoulder and scampered away on all fours.

I turned on Spence. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He blinked. "What do you mean?

"Patting Sam on the head like that?"

"She's not a kid, Spence." said Hannah, almost as annoyed as I was. "Temmies are sensitive about stuff like that."

"Shit. Well, I guess I wasn't thinking," said Spence with a shrug. "Her head was just on the perfect level for patting. And she kind of does look a dog."

I slammed my own book shut and bit back my anger. "I'm going to go find her," I said. "She looked pretty upset."

"Aw c'mon dude," said Spence. "Really? I'm sure she's fine. Just come grab a drink with us."

"I'll see you guys later," I said. I stuffed my notes into my bag, tossed the books on the reshelving caddy nearby and left the two of them staring at my back as I left. 

* * *

I didn't find Sam anywhere. I wondered whether I should go and see Lavender, but I decided not to. Lavender had seemed to get the wrong idea last time I was at the cafe and I didn't want to further fuel her confusion.

It was all my fault, really. I'd sat there like an idiot and done nothing while Spence humiliated her. What the hell was wrong with me?

Truth was, I was worried what the others would say about me. I didn't want to become known as the guy with a thing for Temmies. Now, if Sam was a bunny, that would have made things a lot easier. No one looked down at you for being seen with a bunny.

Guilt iced my stomach. Shit. Was I really that worried about my reputation? Of course I was. How the hell was I going to meet someone and get out of this bachelor rut if I became a laughing stock?

Still, dude, you should have defended her. She was upset.

I was halfway to the cafe before I decided against it, for good this time. If I was Sam, I wouldn't want to see me right now.

Damn. I'd managed to make a friend and straight away screwed it all up. Who the hell cared what Spence or anyone else thought?

I took out my phone. Of course. Sam's number.

I decided to message her.

"Hey, sorry about earlier. Spence does stupid stuff like that all the time. Hope you weren't too upset. Thanks again for helping me out. I really appreciate it. Let me know if you want to study together again some time."

I looked it over. It sounded a bit awkward, but I had to send something. I hit send and waited.

I kept checking my phone the rest of the day, but Sam didn't reply. Had I actually sent it?

Yeah, I'd sent it.

Of course she wasn't going to reply to it. She was angry and humiliated. She probably hated me. Nice. I'd managed to make myself not just unpopular with human girls, but monster girls as well.

I lay on my bed in my apartment and stared at the ceiling, willing my phone to chirp that happy sound which would mean a new message.

Chirp, damn you chirp!

Silence. I nodded off.

I woke up. It was dark. The phone had chirped. I snatched it up, my thumbs slipping over the touch screen.

One new message. From Spence.

"Hey dude, so are we meeting up for drinks tonight or what?"

I thumbed some bullshit excuse and slumped back onto the bed.

After a while I began to feel lonely. I hated the feeling. The darkness and cold of my apartment made it worse. But I didn't feel like getting up and switching on the light, so I lay there, feeling sorry for myself.

I glanced across at my desk. In the spreading darkness all the colour had drained from it and it was slowly losing its shape as well. There was a pile of white squares on it, gradually turning more ghostly. My essay. I should really get up and finish it. After all, I'd used it as an excuse to get out of going out with Spence and the others tonight.

I willed myself out of bed, switched on the light and sat down at my desk. I rifled through the papers, reading my intro. Damn, it was actually pretty good. Sam was a great tutor.

The thought of her made me frown, and I threw myself back into reading over my notes.

Huh. There was an extra sheet at the bottom. I must have snatched it up without thinking. There was writing on it: neat writing, feminine, in crayon.

Huh. Sam must have left some of her notes in her rush to get out of there.

I read through them. She really did have lovely handwriting, especially for someone who wrote with her mouth.

There was more writing on the back, and when I turned it over I noticed there was a drawing, too. It was a drawing of a Temmie, with a human standing beside her.

Wait. Was that... was that supposed to be me?

I remembered ducking away once to go to the bathroom and leaving Sam there at the desk alone. She must have drawn it then. It was a pretty childish drawing, but far better than anything I could've drawn. Cute, though, in a cartoony way. My eyes were huge, like an manga character's, and I towered over the cute little Temmie standing on all-fours beside me. I guess that was meant to be Sam herself.

Why was she drawing pictures of me, I wondered? I separated the paper from the rest of my notes. I'd have to return it to her.

Wait, she might be embarrassed by it. Girls are usually embarrassed when you stumble upon things like this, right? No matter how good a drawing it was. I'd just slip it into her notes next time I got a chance. That was, if I ever got another chance.

I picked up my phone. Damn. C'mon Sam, throw me a bone or something.

But I was left waiting all night for a message that never came. 


	2. Chapter 2

At the next lecture I looked around the theatre. No Sam. Maybe she was working at the cafe again?No, that had been a one-off thing. I knew why she wasn't there. She didn't want to see me.

Luckily, Spence decided to skip that lecture too. I sat there, stewing, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but when Hannah came in alone and late, my anger, which had steadily built up, drained away.

"Hangover," she said in a hushed voice to my unasked question.

I handed my homework in at the end of the lecture. Hannah handed Spence's in with her own.

"How's Sam?" she asked as we left the theatre together.

"I don't know," I said. "She won't return my messages."

"Sorry," said Hannah. "Maybe you should drop by and ask Lavender if she's okay."

I sighed. "I don't think Sam wants anything to do with me. I don't want to pester her."

A smile appeared on Hannah's face, one which was hard to read. "Oh, I don't think Sam would be all that unhappy to see you."

I was halfway back to my apartment when I found my feet carrying me in a different direction, towards the cafe. Wait, was I really going to do this?

I ducked my head into the cafe and didn't see anyone I recognised, so I decided to sit down. Almost right away Lavender appeared.

I started, guilty. She smiled at me and we exchanged pleasantries.

"If you're looking for Sam, she's at home," she said, reading me like an open book.

I started to say that I wasn't looking for her, but then thought better of it. Why should I lie? Sam and I were friends, or at least we had been. Almost.

"Oh," I said instead, and frowned. "Was she – did she seem upset?"

It was Lavender's turn to frown, her fuzzy pink brows furrowing. "Upset? Did you guys have an argument or something?"

"Cultural misunderstanding," I said.

Lavender sighed. "It happens." Then her face lit up. "Hey, so if you're not here for coffee, maybe you can do me a favour."

I blinked at her. "A favour?"

A short while later I was on my way to their apartment, carrying a little box wrapped in a handkerchief. It was for Sam. Their boss, a dog-monster veteran of the Royal Guard, had received a care package from his mother who was still living in the Underground, full of snacks and other stuff that monsters like. He'd given some to his employees, but Sam, not being there, had missed out. Lavender had planned to take Sam's share home for her after her shift, but instead she foisted the job on me.

As I turned into the street where their apartment was my heart began to race. I'd gotten what I'd wanted, a chance to apologise to Sam, but now I was worried about how she was going to react to seeing me. At least Lavender had given me a plausible excuse for going to see her. The rest was up to me, though.

Their apartment block was a typical example of college student accommodation – a three-story brick building with an old mattress abandoned on the kerb and a little garden full of withered plants, cigarette butts and beer bottles.

I went in and climbed the stairs. Their apartment was on the third floor.

I soon found it. There was a paper love-heart on the door with a drawing of a bunny and a Temmie on it, in the same cartoony style of the drawing Sam had made of me – she must have drawn this, too. Cute, and exactly what I would have expected of the apartment of two cute monster girls. I was in the right place.

I stood there like an idiot for a while, wondering whether I shouldn't just forget about it and avoid the whole situation. Sam probably didn't want to be disturbed, especially by me. I'd just leave the package here outside the door. No. No, I'd lived in these student accommodation places before. Someone was likely to steal it. Maybe I should knock on the door and leave before she opened it. I cringed at the thought. Wasn't that exactly the same as ringing someone's doorbell and running? I wasn't twelve years old.

Damn, I was sperging out over this whole situation. Finally, I steeled myself and lifted my hand, ready to knock. I really had no other choice.

My knuckles were descending when the door opened. I stopped awkwardly mid-knock, and took a step back. The edge of a Temmie face, a single perky cat ear and a floppy dog ear, was just visible through the crack. The door was still chained.

"Wh-who is it?" Sam's voice, of course.

I clammed up. C'mon, dude, you know how to speak. Say something!

"It's me," I said, lamely.

Straight-away the face vanished with a cry of "Uwawaawaa!" and the door slammed shut.  
"Sam, wait!" I brought my face to the door so she could hear me through it. "I just came to drop off a package. From Lavender. I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I'll just leave it here and go. Sorry. I won't disturb from now on."

I placed the package in front of the door, then turned and walked away. I was a short way down the corridor when I heard the chain rattle and the door creak open.

"Wait!" Sam cried.

I looked back. A paw was holding the door open, but the rest of Sam remained hidden.

"Sam?"

"Please wait," she said. "I- I don't mind if you get in my hair. I mean, you're not getting in my hair."

Getting in her hair? Oh right, that idiom. But it wasn't just her expression that was strange. Her voice sounded odd, too, as though she was trying to talk with a mouthful of cotton wool.

I hurried back. "Sam, is everything okay?"

Hearing me just outside the door, Sam pulled her paw back inside. A pause, then: "No. No, not really. W- would you like to come in?"

She really didn't sound very sure. "I don't want to disturb you."

"You- you must be tired from carrying that package all the way."

I laughed. "Sam, the package maybe weighs a pound, if that. And it's a ten-minute walk to the cafe from here. It was no trouble at all."

"Still, it was… it was really nice of you to do that for me."

The crack in the door opened wider, but still not enough for me to get through. Silence, for several heartbeats, and then, timidly: "W- would you like to come in for a drink or something? I should warn you, though. I… I look a bit weird at the moment."

"Weird?"

"Not just weird," Sam whispered. "Awful."

Her voice sounded so sad and forlorn I gently pushed the door open the rest of the way and poked my head in.

Sam was there, hiding behind the door, sitting back on her hind legs like dogs do, staring down at the floor. She slowly lifted her head.

Her face was covered in spots, angry red welts like mosquito bites, and her eyes were swollen and swimming.

Those same eyes went wide when they saw me staring at her. "Uwawawa!" she cried out, throwing her paws over her face and turning away. "I really do look awful, don't I?"

"Sam, are you sick?"

"It's… it's hoives," she whispered.

Hoives? Oh, her Temmie accent. "Hives? Wait, like an allergy?"

Still facing away from me she nodded. "I- I'm allergic to some humans. I'm not sure why. Some Temmies just are. Maybe it's their body wash or deodorant or something, but I break out in hoives like this if I touch them."

"So… so you're allergic to me?"

Sam's shoulders slumped and she nodded, her ears and tail flopping down unhappily. "I- I think I must be."

"Oh," I said. My heart sank. I wasn't ready for how upset the thought of Sam being allergic to me made me. I knelt down and pushed the box across the threshold of the door. "I- I'll just leave this here for you, okay? Do you think you'll be at the lecture tomorrow?"

Her head with its floppy ears bobbed.

I sighed. "I guess I'll see you there, then."

She opened her mouth, about to say something, then thought better of it. After a while she stared back down at the floor. "I'm... I'm really sorry."

My heart heavy, I went to go, but then a thought stopped me and I turned back.

"Wait, Sam" I said. "At the cafe… that first time we talked?"

She looked up. "Yes?"

"I touched your paw then, didn't I? But you didn't get hives that time."

Sam sat there, silent. "I… I think your right," she said. "You did touch me. Then why didn't I..." Her eyes went wide.

I'd realised the same thing. "Spence," I said. "Spence patted you on the head, remember?"

"He did!" The frown on her face began to evaporate. "So… so maybe it's him I'm allergic to, then."

"I wouldn't be surprised," I said. "I'm kind of allergic to Spence myself."

Sam stepped across the threshold and came timidly up to me. "May... may I smell your hand?"

She wanted to smell my hand? Well, I'd had some weird requests from girls in my time, but I couldn't see the harm. I placed my hand palm up and she pressed her little button nose against, sniffing like a dog does.

"Soap," she said. She came around beside me and sniffed the cuffs of my jeans, then stood up on her hind legs and sniffed my shirt. "You… you just use soap, right?"

I nodded. "And deodorant. I've never really been into all that manscaping, metrosexual stuff."

Sam sat back and took a deep breath. "I… I feel fine." A smile burst out across her face. "I'm not allergic to you!"

I grinned back at her. "I'm glad! I'd feel bad if I was the one putting you through all this."

Sam's smile fell from her face – literally. It hung there in space beneath her chin, just as it had that other time. She'd remembered her hives. "Oh, my face! I look so awful!"

She covered her face with her paws, but I gently took them away. It broke my heart that she was feeling so self-conscious. "Don't worry about it, Sam. You know, I got stung by a hornet once. My head puffed up like twice its normal size."

Sam's smile sprang back into life. As I'd hoped, the ridiculous image had distracted her. Her eyes fell on the package still sitting at our feet, then back up at me. "You were so nice to bring it to me," she murmured, her smile turned shy. "Do you have time? Come in and I'll make you coffee."

"Free coffee sounds pretty good," I replied.

I stepped through the door as she carried the parcel in and put it near the sofa. She flashed me another happy smile then trotted through a little archway to where I expected the kitchen was.

"You like your coffee black with just a dash of milk, right?" she called out to me.

"Yeah." She remembered how I liked my coffee. The thought pleased me.

As I made my way inside my eyes fell over the living room. It was your typical shared apartment, with its worn carpet and cheap Ikea furniture, but the place was neat and organised and nicely decorated, with photos everywhere and knick-knacks on the dresser and the TV. You could tell a couple of girls lived here.

I ducked my head through the arch. Sam was standing on one of those little plastic fold-out steps that kids use to reach things, and she was busy clicking ground coffee into the portafilter. They had a real coffee machine, one of those expensive ones with the glossy copper finish.

Sam glanced back over her shoulder as she ran the water. "Oh, this is Lavender's machine. She says life is too short to drink capsule coffee. And anyway, it helps us practise our barista skills at home, too."

"So that's why your coffee is so good," I said.

It wasn't just flattery, even if it did sound like it. Sam didn't seem to mind and flashed me that brilliant smile of hers again.

When she'd made the coffees, I helped her bring them into the living room. She sat down on the couch and I glanced around the room. There was an armchair, but it was too far away from the coffee table and I didn't want to pull it over, since that would look stupid. So I stood there, confused, until Sam patted the sofa beside her with a paw.

She smiled apologetically. "Sorry. We don't really have that many visitors to the apartment so we don't have an extra chairs. It's okay, though. I don't take up much space."

I sat down. Sam was within hand's reach, sitting on her haunches. She smiled at me and I smiled back. Feeling awkward, I grabbed the coffee and took a sip. It was hot and creamy and delicious. "This is really good!"

Sam blushed. "It's the machine, really. The only thing you have to do is make sure you don't tamp the espresso down too tight."

She took up her own and took a sip. I noticed hers was in an odd shaped mug.

"It's an ergonomic cup," she said. "Oh, did I pronounce that right? A lot of monsters have trouble holding smooth things in their paws, so they developed them for us to use on the surface."

I smiled, remembering how she'd juggled those human mugs and cups at the cafe and almost dropped them. Sam saw my smile and turned her face away to hide her deepening blush.

"You're thinking about how I dropped those cups at the cafe," she muttered.

"No, no I'm not," I lied. But then I laughed and said, "Yeah, I am."

Sam held a paw against her forehead. "I'm such a klutz sometimes. But I think I'm getting better at being a waitress."

Our eyes met. Even red and swollen, Sam's eyes were pretty. They were small and dark, and her allergic reaction made them gleam even more than usual. Beady eyes, I guess you'd call them. And yet they seemed strangely beautiful on her earnest face.

Two heartbeats later and we were still staring at each other. The realisation struck us at the same moment and we laughed and looked away. I glanced across at the package to break the awkwardness.

"So, are you going to open it?"

Sam followed my gaze and blinked. "Oh, the package! I forgot all about it. Did Lavender say what's in it?"

"Snacks from the Underground from your boss, I think."

At the words snacks her little cat ears perked up. "Uwa!" she cried. She hopped off the couch and dove onto the package, her paws making short work of the wrapping. Soon a box appeared among the torn paper. She eagerly opened it.

Sam was between me and the box so I didn't see straight away what was inside, but the effect on her was immediate. Her tail sprang straight up taut and both pairs of ears joined it. Then she began to shake – no, not shake. Vibrate, like a massage machine does.

"Sam? What is it?"

"Uwawawawawawawa!" she cried out, even louder than she had before, startling me. She turned around in slow motion, her eyes huge, her mouth hanging open, her whole body still vibrating. Her paws were filled to overflowing with what looked like little squares of coloured paper.

I frowned. "Is… is that confetti?"

"N0! N0t ConFetti!" cried Sam. Her voice was different, excited, her accent thick. She threw the paper into the air with a cry of pure delight. "Its TeMmiE Flakes!"

It was like a party popper had exploded everywhere. The flakes fluttered down about her, but she'd already turned around and was scooping more out of the box. These got thrown into the air as well and she danced around the fluttering confetti, catching some on her tongue, much like a little kid catching snowflakes.

"Sam?"

"UwawuaaUwuawUwuaauu!" She threw herself back onto the now thick layer of Temmie flakes covering the floor and rubbed her back on them, like a dog scratching an itch it can't reach, all the while grabbing up more pawsfull of the brightly coloured squares and showering them over herself.

After a while she grew calmer. She rolled back onto her feet and looked up at me blinking, as though noticing me for the first time.

"I guess you really like Temmie flakes," I said, grinning. The whole spectacle had been bizarre and unexpected but totally adorable.

"Yayayaya," she said, nodding, a thin string of drool hanging from her bottom lip. "Tem loevs dose Temmie Flakkes! All Tems loev TeMmie FlakeS!"

She snatched up the flakes and started shovelling them into her mouth. They were soon gone. As she swallowed the last one, her vibrating slowed and her eyes lost a little of their ecstatic gaze.

"Tem flakes… SooSo GoOd!" she gurgled. Then she shook her head. Her eyes were clear again, brighter than before, and the dopey grin slowly slid off her face to be replaced by a deepening blush.

"Oh no," she whispered. "Oi… I…" Her tail flopped down. "I got really carried uwau -away, didn't I?"

I shook my head and laughed. "You've never seen me after a few drinks. I act exactly the same."

Sam blinked at me. "Really?"

I smiled. "Well, maybe not like that, exactly." I leaned forward. "So I'm guessing Temmie flakes are a snack from the Underground?"

Sam forgot her embarrassment. I knew the question would distract her. She couldn't resist explaining things. "Yes. Oi… uh, I haven't had any for a long time."

"Are they a drug?"

"Oh no," said Sam, shaking her head. "They're definitely a snack. But I guess…" She glanced down at her paws. "I guess us Temmies are just obsessed with them. They make us feel really good. Like humans and chocolate."

"I see." I'd never seen even the most obsessive chocoholic act like Sam just had, but I wasn't going to argue with the little creature. "So what do they taste like?"

Sam's eyes glazed over. "Like happiness and love and joy and uawawawaa!" She slapped a paw over her mouth. "Oh, and they make me forget how to speak English! It's so embarrassing."

"I like it when you talk Temmie," I said.

Sam tilted her head, quizzical. "Really?" She frowned. "A lot of humans laugh when they hear us talking, though."

I snorted. "They're idiots. You should be proud of who you are, right?"

Sam pushed up her bottom lip, thinking. Her eyes glimmered and she nodded. "You're right."

I went to grab my cup and saw a Temmie flake had fluttered down behind it. "You missed one." I picked it up. In my hand It felt exactly like a piece of coloured paper. I glanced at Sam. "Do you think I can try it?"

A mischievous smile slipped onto her lips. "One shouldn't hurt you. Are you sure you can handle it, though?"

I turned it over before my face then gingerly popped it into my mouth. It quickly dissolved, leaving a sweet, slightly chemical taste not unlike cheap cotton candy.

I waited for some sort of strange effect, but nothing happened. I glanced across at Sam who blinked at me innocently.

"So how did it taste?" she asked.

"Sweet," I said. "Uh. But I don't really feel anything yet."

"I'm sorry," she said, stifling a giggle. "I tricked you. Temmie flakes only have an effect on Temmies."

"Oh," I said, disappointed.

"But I have something I know humans like!" She trotted into the kitchen and returned with a bottle which she placed on the coffee table.

Wine.

I laughed and Sam frowned. "Oh, but I thought all humans like wine."

"Well, I do like wine," I said. "But it's still a bit early in the afternoon. If I start drinking now I'll be pretty rowdy before it gets dark, and I still haven't finished that essay..."

"Oh!" cried Sam. "The essay! I forgot all about it! I said I'd help you with it."

"It doesn't matter," I said. "You've been sick. I've almost finished it anyway."

Sam shook her head, defiant. "No, it still needed a lot of work. Did you fix up your bibliography like I showed you?

"Mostly," I said.

Sam sighed. "Did you bring it?"

I patted my jacket and found my USB stick. Luckily I'd put a copy on it to print out some pages in the library.

Sam hopped off the couch and disappeared down the corridor on the other side of the room from the little kitchen. I assumed the bedrooms were there. She soon came trotting back with a laptop.

"Look, Sam," I said as the little creature put the laptop on the coffee table. "It's okay, really. I can-"

My voice trailed away at the fierce look on her face and instead I handed her the USB stick. She brought up my essay and read through it. She was a quick reader.

"It's better," she said when I finished. "But you really do need to include some more evidence for your point about early conceptualisations of SAVE."

"Uh, yeah," I said. I grabbed my notebook from my bag and start flipping through it.

"...and your conclusion is still weak," continued Sam. "We really need to punch it up a bit."

Before I knew it we were hard at work beating my shabby essay into shape. Sam, usually gentle and diplomatic, was a strict and critical tutor. I'd only seen a glimpse of it in the library the day before, but now we knew each other better she wasn't as shy any more. But I appreciated it. My essay really did need a lot of work.

We were still hard at it when the front door opened. It was Lavender returning from her shift at the cafe.

"Oh," she said when she spotted the two of us in front of the laptop. "Hard at work, I see."

Sam looked up from the computer. "Is it that late already?"

I glanced at my phone. Six o'clock. We'd been working for hours. I hadn't even noticed the time passing.

"It's my turn to make dinner, isn't it," said Sam. She started to get up but Lavender stopped her.

"Don't worry about it," said the bunny. "I actually just dropped by to get changed. I'm going out." She glanced over the two of us. "Would you two like to come? I was planning to go to Megalovania."

Megalovania was a new club. I'd heard good things about it. Apparently it was very popular amongst monsters.

I began to say something but Sam interrupted me. "I'm afraid this essay still needs a lot more work."

I sighed, suddenly guilty. Sam was right, of course. Some of my own earlier work had been a waste of time, and we'd had to ditch a lot of it and write it again from scratch.

Lavender laughed. "Well, you guys keep at it then. Maybe you should order some pizza in or something if it's going to take a while."

"That's a good idea," said Sam. Lavender disappeared in the direction of the bedrooms and I turned to the little Temmie.

"I'm really sorry about this," I said. "Why don't we just leave it here? I can finish the rest and then you can go out with Lavender."

Sam shook her head. "I never leave a job half-finished." A gentle smile appeared on her lips. "Besides, I don't like going clubbing all that much. I feel kind of awkward – you know, being single and everything."

So Sam was single. "But that's the point of clubbing, right? Going out and meeting new people. You might meet someone nice. And dancing is fun."

Sam snorted. "You don't have to go clubbing to meet nice people," she said. "And I can dance here at home just as well. It's free, too."

She had me there. "Look, I'll order us some pizza,"I said. "My treat." Sam was about to argue, but I didn't let her this time. "No, you've been such a huge help. It's the least I can do."

Sam hopped off the couch and brought back the menu of a nearby pizza place. It was run by a family of Vulkins and a glance at the choice of toppings showed it catered to both monster and human tastes.

We ended up ordering a margarita pizza for me and a popsato chisps and rock-candy pizza, family-size, for Sam. I was pleased she had a healthy appetite. There are few things more disappointing than a girl who picks at her food and barely eats anything.

Sam didn't let me use the distraction of ordering dinner to goof off and she soon had me back at work. We were engrossed in the section on propinquity when Lavender finally came back out into the living room.

She looked utterly stunning. Her short skirt and skimpy top were somehow sexy rather than slutty – I guess it must have been the graceful and self-assured way she moved that made all the difference, as though she'd got dressed up for herself and no-one else. She'd done up her hair and was wearing make up which wasn't overdone, although she hadn't skimped on the eye shadow which made her already striking jade eyes even more arresting.

God. Spence was right. Even for a bunny she really did have some serious curves.

Lavender grinned at me and I realised I was staring.

"Uh, have fun," I said.

"You guys too," she said with a playful smile. "Don't work too hard, though. Mettaton's Hour of Fabulousness is on later – take a break and watch that. I hear Snowdrake's on as a guest this week."

"We'll watch it if we finish up in time," said Sam. She was frowning, clearly annoyed that Lavender had interrupted our work.

"See you later then," said Lavender. She winked at us and closed the door behind her,

As soon as she was gone, Sam snorted.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

Sam shrugged. "You really should be more careful referencing the quotes you use." She grabbed her copy of the textbook and went hunting through the index.

"Sorry," I said. "I'm pretty useless at all this academic stuff."

Sam flipped a few more pages then stopped and shut the book. "No, I'm the one who's sorry," she said, her pretty face marred with a frown. "I was just being a bitch."

"When?"

"Just then. To Lavender." Sam pushed the book aside, sat back on her haunches and sighed. "You know, sometimes I wish I was a bunny rather than a Temmie."

"Why's that?" I asked.

Sam's eyes scanned my face. My response seemed to have surprised her, but not in a bad way. "It's just that..." She sighed again. "No one ever takes Temmies seriously."

I thought about what she said. "You know, Sam, before I met you, I guess I was like most humans and just thought of Temmies as funny and random. But now I realise I was being ignorant."

Sam blinked at me. "Really?" Sam dropped her gaze. A loose thread on the sofa cushion had suddenly become fascinating and she batted at it with a paw. "You know, I… I was always nervous around humans before I met you."

I laughed. "Well, it looks like all that stuff we're studying has taught us something then, hasn't it?"

She looked up at me, the thread forgotten. Her eyes shimmered wetly and she nodded.

There was a knock at the door. Our pizza had arrived.

Sam wasn't ashamed of enjoying her food. She had a healthy appetite for such a tiny little thing and I soon wondered where she was putting all that pizza away. She was, admittedly, a little round and plump, especially around the hips and butt, but that was just how all Temmies looked and Sam was a healthy weight. I decided that Temmies must have a fast metabolism and need a high-calorie diet for all the jumping around and vibrating and other curious Temmie-ish things they do.

Sam convinced me to try some of her pizza and it actually tasted alright. Somehow, the popsato chisps and rock candy actually worked together. Even the chocolate sprinkles she'd added weren't too bad at all.

We slumped back on the sofa, full. Sam's tummy had popped out from under her top. The little round bulge was pale pink and furless with a cute outie belly button.

I resisted the urge to stare at the adorable sight and patted my own stomach instead. "Phew," I said. "Lavender missed out. I wonder if she's having a good time."

"She always has a good time," replied Sam. "She's very popular, you know."

"I can believe it. She seems the outgoing type. They always have lots of friends."

Sam snorted. "No, I mean with guys. Boyfriends. Stuff like that. She never seems to have any trouble getting boyfriends. Human guys, especially."

"Human guys?"

Sam turned to face me. "Oh, you know. Some human guys have a thing for monsters, right? Especially bunnies." She frowned. "Why is that?"

"Well," I said. "I guess bunnies look very similar to humans. And we kind of have this tradition that bunnies are… well, fun-loving." I'd been about to say something else. "I guess a lot of guys like that."

Sam blinked. "Do you like that?"

I glanced down at her. Her face was surprisingly serious. She'd obviously been thinking about this whole human-monster thing a lot. "Well, I guess so. But you can have girls that are too… uh, fun-loving."

My answer seemed to mollify Sam and her face softened. But then her frown returned. "You're just saying that. If Lavender told you she was in love with you and wanted to go out with you, you'd say 'yes' in a second, right?"

"Well." She had me there. "Look, Lavender's really nice, but she's not really my type."

"You don't like monsters?"

I laughed. "No, it's not that at all. I wouldn't have a problem going out with a monster. I was talking about personality types. I mean, I guess I just like girls who are a bit more… well, serious."

Sam pursed her lips and mulled my answer over. I suddenly felt like I was in the middle of a job interview, somehow. "What do you mean, 'serious'?" she asked.

I sat forward. What the hell did I mean by 'serious'? "Well, I don't mean not having a sense of humour. That's very important to me. And I don't mean ordinary, or boring… no, nothing like that. I guess what I mean by' serious' is loyal. You know, someone who would take me seriously."

Sam cocked her head. "But who wouldn't take you seriously?"

I sat back with my hands behind my head and laughed. "Oh, lots of people. I guess I'm just much too ordinary for some girls. I'm not that exciting."

Sam jumped up onto all fours. "But I think you're very exciting. And interesting. And kind."

I smiled. "It's nice of you to say that, but..."

"No," said Sam, her expression determined. "Don't put yourself down. I don't like it. Didn't you say before that everyone should be proud of who they are?"

She had me there. How was the little creature so good at getting all this stuff out of me? I'd never really been one for this kind of deep and meaningful conversation. Maybe that's why all my relationships had never really worked out.

"You know," Sam began. "I really think-"

I wasn't listening. I'd been thinking hard about what she'd just said. "You're right," I said. "Hey, I've got a great idea. We should put that in my essay. You know, to bridge the section between human and monster attitudes towards cultural difference, that even within our own communities individuals have issues with valuing their personal identity."

Sam closed her mouth and was silent for a few moments, no doubt thinking over my idea. Then a small smile appeared on her lips. "I think that's a great idea."

"Well, let's jump back into it," I said. "I don't want to keep you up all night."

"Oh, but I enjoy it…. helping you, I mean."

I grinned at her. "I really owe you one, Sam," I said. "You know, if you ever need a favour-"

"Actually," said Sam quickly. "There's… there's kind of a concert on Saturday night. Do you know Siren?"

"She's a monster celebrity, right? The singer?"

Sam nodded. "She's putting on a concert at the student union. Lavender is going, but I wasn't going to go just with her. I kind of always feel like I… like I cramp her fashion or something." Her voice grew soft and unsure. "Maybe… maybe you'd like to come?"

"What, like a date?"

Sam's eyes went wide and she waved her paws in the air. "Oh no, no, no no. I mean, we'd meet up there. You can bring some friends too, if you like."

I stroked my chin. "Actually, I seem to remember Hannah and Spence saying they were going. Yeah, it sounds like fun."

"Great!" Sam clapped her front paws together and that jackpot smile burst over her face. But soon her serious expression returned. "But we really should stop messing around and finish this essay. Otherwise it might get too late for you to go home and you might have to stay over, or… or something."

I laughed. "I wouldn't want to impose," I said. "Even though this sofa does feel pretty comfy."

"We have a spare bed..."

I laughed. "It's fine. We're almost finished, anyway."

"But we still have to..."

"It's okay," I said. "I can finish writing up the bibliography myself. You've been a huge help, Sam."

Sam beamed at me.

We threw ourselves back into the essay and it was soon finished. We read it through together, the two of us cheek-to-cheek reading it off the screen of her little laptop. From time to time Sam's dog-ear would brush against the side of my face and she'd apologise. I didn't mind one bit, though. With her so close to me, I'd noticed that she had a particular scent. It wasn't perfume or anything, just her natural smell. It was sweet and savoury, like cotton candy or maybe caramel popcorn, different from a human smell. I liked it.

"Are you finished with this page?" asked Sam, her paw hovering over the touch-pad. I nodded. I hadn't finished it, but I didn't want her to notice I'd been distracted.

We soon reached the end.

"Wow," I said. "You know, that almost reads like a real essay now."

Sam giggled and batted me with a paw. "Of course it does. You had some great ideas, you know. It's just that they weren't really very logically ordered."

I slumped back on the sofa. "That sounds about right. I'm glad I have you around to help me out. I might actually pass this course, now."

Sam sat back with me. She was rather close and I noticed that sweet scent again.

"Are you wearing perfume?" I asked suddenly.

Sam blinked at me. Then her cheeks pinkened and she shook her head, sending her dog-ears flicking back and forth. "No no no!" she said. "Why? Do I smell funny?"

"No, you smell nice," I said.

Sam's face flushed even deeper. She moved closer to me, planting her butt beside mine.

Suddenly the TV flicked on, blaringly loud.

The two of us jerked up in surprise. I glanced down. Sam had sat on the remote control.

With the TV blaring, Sam grabbed the remote control, promptly fumbled it and then hurriedly retrieved it. A frenzy of button pushing later the TV returned to a normal volume and we could make out the well-known voice of Mettaton.

"Oh!" said Sam. "Lavender said that he was going to have Snowdrake on tonight, didn't she?" Her eyes flicked at me. "But it's late. You probably want to..."

"It's not that late," I said. "And my place is just a short walk from here anyway. Why don't we watch it? I think we deserve it after all our hard work."

Sam nodded. "And we can have some wine now, too."

"That sounds great," I said.

Sam darted into the kitchen and brought back a bottle-opener and two glasses.

"I guess you guys must drink wine pretty often" I said as I tore the foil from the top of the bottle and dug the corkscrew into the cork.

Sam shook her head. "Oh no. Lavender sometimes does but I don't drink much at all."

"That's not a bad thing," I said. "I should really cut back on my drinking. It gets a bit out of control sometimes."

"That's what happens to me, too," said Sam, mishearing what I said.

I chuckled. "Okay. So only one glass for you, then."

Sam pouted. "I'm not a kid!"

I popped the cork and Sam's ears pricked up in surprise. I wondered, then, what it was like to have two sets of ears. They both seemed pretty useful in expressing herself. Maybe that's why Temmies had them.

I handed Sam a glass and poured some wine for her. As soon as I was done, she dove her muzzle into the glass and smelled her drink.

She looked up, her eyes wide. "It smells really good!"

I poured my own glass and gave the wine a good sniff. "It does smell good," I said. I took a sip. "Tastes good too."

We settled back on the couch. There was a burst of applause on the TV as Mettaton introduced his next guest.

I have to admit, I'd never really been a huge fan of Mettaton. I always thought of him as one of those artificial celebrities – well, literally artificial – who always seem to get more attention than they deserve. But I had to admit after watching a bit of his show I started to understand his appeal. Sam watched intensely, her cat ears pricking up now and then, her tail wagging back and forth in happy, lazy sweeps. All monsters love Mettaton, and she was no exception.

While she watched I sneaked a chance at looking her over. Her hives had started to go down, but even with the red, puffy bumps still covering her face I had to admit that she was very cute. Her round face had a childlike delicacy to it, like some pretty human girls have – a baby-face, I guess you'd call it. And even though she had a little black nose at the end of a muzzle and her top lip was a gently clefted double-u like a dog or cat's, somehow those alien additions only added to her cuteness.

Sam blinked her little gleaming black eyes and glanced at me. "He's really funny, isn't he?"

"Huh?" Oh, she was talking about Mettaton. "Oh, yeah."

"Temmie loev Mettaton," she said. She took another drink and turned back to me, beaming, her top lip red with the wine. "Tem loev wine, t0o!"

I couldn't help but smile. She'd fallen back into Tem-speak without even noticing. I decided I wanted to hear more, so I didn't let on. I knew she'd correct herself and speak English if I did.

As the show led into a series of musical numbers, I started to ask Sam about herself. I already knew a few things, but there was still a lot that was a total mystery to me.

"Yayayyaya," she said, nodding her head rapidly. "Temmie gr0w up in Tem Village!" Her eyes grew wide and sparkles appeared in the corners – real, honest-to-god sparkles. "Ya, Tem Village is reel noice place. Lots and LOTS! of Tems live there."

"Oh n0, Tems don't have president or queen or leader loik hoomans! No, every Tem equal. But Tems loev Asgore and Toriel when they were King and Queen. Yayaya."

"Yayayay. There b0y and girls Tems, of corse. Tems get married, loik hoomans, and haev puppies."

I really wanted to ask her whether Temmies were…. Well, whether they had sex the same way humans do, but I couldn't think of a way to ask her without sounding creepy so I gave up on the idea and instead asked her about why she'd decided to go to University.

"Back in Tem village, Tem knew 0ther Temmie who went to colleg. She ran Temshop for a loooong loooong time, but teh Ambassador sponsored her too go to colleg an learn lots of stuffs." Sam's eyes gleamed. "So Tem decide to go to colleg too, learn lots of stuffs and get ejucation. And maybe she make sum noice frens and meet a noice hoomans." She placed a paw on my knee. "And Tem was lucky and met U! :3"

She went to take another drink, but her wine glass was empty. She tried to grab it with her paw but it tipped over. I quickly righted it.

"I think maybe we've had enough to drink," I said. I was feeling tipsy too, and worse still the wine had made me horny. Sam's paw on my knee had sent a shiver up my leg and I felt myself getting hard.

I shifted a little so that the bulge wasn't obvious, and Sam took her paw off my knee.

"Sorry," she said. "Temmie forg0t her paw was on hooman's knee."

"It's okay," I said. "I don't mind."

Sam blinked at me, then her mouth opened in a gigantic yawn. Once she was done she wiped her mouth with the back of her paw. "Wine delishus but maek Tem sleepy."

I couldn't help but yawn in response to her huge one. "Me too. Maybe I should think about going home."

Sam jerked her head up. "Nonono! It still early. Mettaton's show n0t eVen finished yet. Plz stay!1 Tem's apartment get cold and emty and scary wivout Lavender."

"Okay," I said. I hadn't really wanted to go. To tell the truth, the sofa was super comfortable and with Sam beside me I was warm and tipsy and content.

Sam started to nod off. "Tem… haev… too stay.. awake."

"It's okay," I said. "You worked really hard tonight helping me. You should have a nap." I patted the sofa beside me.

Sam slumped down on her stomach like a balloon deflating, her head falling onto my lap.

"Uh, Sam?" I went to move her head but she was already snoring.

I leaned in close. She wasn't pretending. She'd fallen asleep.

I shifted just enough for my erection to slip into a more comfortable position. One of Sam's cat ears flipped back in annoyance and she muttered, but she soon went back to snoring.

I gingerly slipped a hand under her chin, but when I lifted her head she had such a happy, dopey expression on her face I didn't have the heart to move her. Truth was, it was nice having her head in my lap.

I lifted my hand away. She was hard at snoring now and a lock of her black hair flicked up onto her nose with every snore. She sneezed and batted at it with a paw, so I slicked it back for her. Then I rested my hand on her head and stroked her hair. Okay, I'll admit it was a pretty forward thing to do, but I was tipsy and my heart was overflowing with affection for her after how kind she'd been to me. Sam smiled in her sleep and pushed her head up to meet my stroking. I yawned again. Damn, this sofa was comfy.

The next thing I knew someone was opening the door to the apartment. I had that panicky moment when you wake up in a place you're unfamiliar with and have no idea who or where you are. I jerked upright, my heart racing.

"Wow. You guys look comfy."

I wheeled around. Lavender, a playful smile on her lips, was in the middle of closing the front door, but she stopped halfway.

"Need another couple of hours?" she whispered, her eyes flicking downwards. I followed them. Sam was curled up in my lap. Sometime while I'd been asleep she must have climbed into it.

Mortified, I tried to slide from under the little creature and woke her up. She looked around the room, bleary eyed, and when her gaze fell on me she smiled sleepily and rubbed her eyes with a paw.

"Is it morning already?"

"It's one thirty in the morning," said Lavender.

Sam's tail and ears stuck straight up like antennas and she leaped out of my lap, crying "Uawawawawa!" She went bouncing around the room and I tried to calm her down while Lavender watched, laughing.

"Sorry I disturbed you," she said. "But if you guys are going to do stuff like this, you're better off doing it in a bedroom where you can have some privacy."

Sam's jaw fell open and she stared at Lavender, and then me, and then Lavender again.

"But Tem didn't do anything wiv teh hooman," she said. She realised she was speaking Temmie and a paw flew to her mouth. Then, in a more controlled voice, she added: "Nothing happened."

"Oh, is that so?" Lavender's voice was tinged with disappointment. "Well, I do have work in the morning, but I can give you guys a few more hours if you..."

I leaped onto my feet. "Uh, I guess I should go. It's pretty late." I grabbed my USB out of Sam's laptop and my bag from where I'd left it next to the couch. The two girls watched me, Sam with a strange expression on her face, a mixture of embarrassment and disappointment. She flapped her mouth, wanting to say something that wouldn't come, but I came to her rescue.

"Thanks again for your help, Sam," I said. "I had fun hanging out. So I guess I'll see you guys at the concert?"

At the word 'concert', Sam's face lit up and she bobbed her head. "Yayaya! Temmie sooooo excited for…." She stopped, shook herself, and then said, "I mean I... I can't wait."

"Well, see you guys then, then." I raised my hand and Sam raised her paw in response.

Lavender opened the door wider for me. "Bye," she said as I slipped past her.

I couldn't help but feel that 'bye' meant a lot of things.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day I had a lecture, but not for Studies in Human-Monster Interrelations. I spent the whole time stifling yawns and writing the same damn sentence over and over. But despite my exhaustion, my heart, which had started racing as soon as I woke up, showed no sign of slowing down. I guess I was just excited about tonight.

Once lectures were over I decided to get ready. I opened my wardrobe and found a whole lot of shitty clothes staring back at me. Right. Time to get something new.

I had a few hours before the concert so I went shopping. I didn't have that much money, but I had enough in my emergency supply for a new jacket.

I found one I liked, a bit more expensive than I'd planned, but I got it anyway. I needed one. Damn, how long had I been walking around looking this shabby? When I tried the jacket on again at home I was pretty impressed with how good I looked. I ruffled my hair. I really needed a haircut but that was maybe taking things too far. If Sam saw me with a new haircut, she might get the wrong idea that I was dressing up for….

I stood there, staring at my reflection. A new jacket. Holy shit, how much had this thing cost? And just because you wanted to impress Sam...

...impress Sam.

I sat back on the bed. Just thinking about her had started my heart racing again. Sam, my little study-buddy, as Spence had called her. Sam, with her jackpot smile and her cute, round little body. Kind, gentle, funny Sam.

God, was I really that desperate for female contact that I was crushing hard on a Temmie?

Why the hell did that matter? So she's a Temmie. So what? Human-monster couples aren't all that rare. No, dude, wait – human-dog couples and human-bunny couples are not that rare. Have you ever even heard of a human and a Temmie going out? How would that work?

Does it matter she's a Temmie?

Of course it does. Remember how everyone laughed at you when you helped Sam pick up her crayons?

When the hell did you start caring about what other people think, anyway?

No, maybe I was reading too much into this. Did Sam even like me? She'd leapt off my lap pretty quickly when Lavender came home, and she'd been embarrassed being seen so close to me. Maybe I was just taking all this monster-human interrelations stuff too seriously. Maybe I was just desperate.

I glanced at my phone. I had to go. The concert would start pretty soon. I decided to forget about all this Sam stuff and try and concentrate on having a good time. Anyway, Spence and Hannah were going to be there, too. I sent a quick message to arrange to meet them inside the venue. After a few drinks I'd be able to interact without behaving like a complete retard.

The venue was already full of people when I arrived. Half the university seemed to be there. The crowd, unsurprisingly, was full of monsters, There was a preband already playing and the place was all noise and lights and smoke and that sweet boozy smell that all university events have.

I handed over my ticket and got my hand stamped, then pushed my way into the crowd to look for Spence and Hannah. Spence had said they'd be in the corner where the Mexican food kiosk is when the place is a cafeteria rather than a concert venue.

I soon found Spence, but there was no sign of Hannah.

"Dude!" he cried out to me over the music. He looked me over. "I like the jacket." He slapped me on the back and slipped his arm around my shoulders. "C'mon, I've got some people you've got to meet."

"Where's Hannah?" I asked him.

"Huh?"

"Hannah?"

"Oh," he said. "Hannah's not coming. She's not well – woman stuff I guess. Don't worry though, we won't be lacking female companionship."

He swept me past a bunch of people to reveal two bunny girls. For a second I thought one of them was Lavender, but I soon realised I didn't know either of them. They were busy laughing and drinking when the taller one, the bunny with yellow-brown fur, saw Spence and me.

"Spencer!" she cried. "Where'd you go?"

"Had to go collect our fourth member," said Spence grabbing her around the waist. She laughed and hugged him to her.

He slipped free, grinning, and swept his hand in the direction of the second bunny. She was a little shorter than her friend, her fur a pale off-white, her features more sensitive and less made-up. She smiled at Spence and then turned a shy smile to me and held out her paw.

I took it.

"This is Vanilla," said Spence. "And my gorgeous friend here is Caramel."

"Hi," said Vanilla. "Spencer tells me you're in his Monster-Human Studies class."

"Uh yeah," I said. Her paw was warm and soft, just like Sam's. Her smile deepened. She dropped my hand and glanced shyly at the floor.

Damn. She even smelled like vanilla, too.

We fell into that small talk that always seems to ensue when you meet someone – what courses we were doing, where we lived, stuff like that. I usually find that kind of small-talk awkward, and tonight was no exception. But when Spence pushed a drink into my hand and then another I soon warmed up. Vanilla was as nice as she was pretty and she was really smart. She was studying Molecular Biology, which she somehow made funnier and more interesting than I ever would have guessed.

When Vanilla and Caramel ducked away to get the next round of drinks, Spence grabbed me.

"So what do you think, bro?"

"She's nice," I said.

"She's really smart for a bunny, don't you think?"

"Huh," I said. My mind was floating in a nice fuzzy haze which smoothed over the annoyance I would've usually felt at his remark. I pulled out my phone and checked it. Still no text from Sam or Lavender.

"Expecting someone?" asked Spence with a raised eyebrow.

"Lavender and Sam are coming," I said.

Spence gave a low chuckle. "The Temmie?"

"Yeah," I said. "The Temmie."

Spence's arm slipped around my shoulders again. God, I hated it when he did that. "Dude, forget the Temmie. Vanilla is totally into you. She can't take her eyes off you, and she keeps touching you."

"She's just being friendly," I said.

Spence laughed. "Bro, take it from me. You haven't got as much game as I have, but Vanilla is a sure thing. Caramel says she's into human guys and she's looking for someone."

"I'm not looking for anyone," I said.

Spence blinked at me. "What the hell are you talking about? Ever since Erica you've been bitching about how you never meet anyone and how you need to get back out there."

"I..." Spence had me there. "Look, Vanilla is really nice but I don't know..."

Spence shook his head. "Look, bro, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, you know that. Why not just have some fun, then? The two of them are pretty fun, right?"

"Yeah," I admitted.

"My ears are burning," said Caramel as she pushed her way to us and put a drink in Spence's hand.

"Mine too," said Vanilla. She handed me a drink with a smile and twitched her ears.

"Thanks," I said.

"Do you really think I'm funny?" she asked me straight out.

"Uh yeah," I said, taken aback.

Vanilla grinned. "Well, I think you're funny too."

Spence arched his eyebrows at me.

Another drink later and I was having a great time, even though I kept wondering where Sam and Lavender were. Sam still hadn't messaged me.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I said suddenly.

"Don't do it here, man!" said Spence.

The bunnies laughed at his stupid joke and I laughed, too. "I'll be right back."

I slipped into the bathroom and stood off to one side to check my phone. I didn't really need to go, but I didn't want to act like a jerk towards Vanilla.

Damn, still no message. Where were they? I decided to call Sam instead, but the call rang through to her voice mail.

I started to get worried. They were two girls, after all, and terrible stuff happens sometimes. I decided I'd have to go check if they were okay. Their apartment wasn't that far away and anyway, I couldn't enjoy myself if I kept worrying about them.

I slipped out of the bathroom and went to look for Spence and the bunnies. I found the three of them laughing. I had to admit, Spence was a funny guy when he wasn't being a total douche.

Vanilla's eyes went wide when she saw me. "Oh, Spence was saying you probably drowned, but you're alright."

I laughed. "It was a pretty close thing, though."

Vanilla slipped her arms around my neck. "You're really cute, do you know that?"

Her breath was thick and sweet with mixer drinks and her face was so pink and hot that I could feel the heat roiling off her.

"Uh," I said. "Uh Vanilla, look..."

With so much soft, curvy perfumed bunny squeezing against me my body betrayed me. I started to enjoy it. But I had to leave.

"I have to go, Vanilla."

She brought her face next to mine. Her eyes were huge and molten and she frowned. "You're going?"

"I've got some friends I need to check up on."

"Oh," she said. "I see."

"Sorry," I said. The disappointment on her gentle face made me feel like a total asshole.

"No," she said. "I understand."

I gently took her arms from around me and held her paws in my hands. "Look, I don't know what Spence has been telling you, but… uh, my life's a bit complicated now. There's… there's someone I like and I-"

Vanilla's bottom lip started to quiver. "Oh," she said. "Oh." But then she sniffed and straightened her back and a brave grin appeared on her face. "It's okay. I understand. I- thanks for being honest with me."

She leaned forward and I hugged her back. It was the least I could do. Damn, I should have told her as soon as I met her, before –

I sensed someone looking at me, that prickling feeling you get on the back of your neck. I turned, still in Vanilla's arms, to find Sam staring at us.

She was only a few feet away and by some curse of fortune the floor between us was almost empty of people. She was dressed in a cute stripy buttoned top and an adorable little tulle skirt, her hair done up in ribbons. And was that… eye shadow?

She would have looked utterly beautiful if her face wasn't wearing a look of shock and betrayal.

That look. I never want to remember it. Her beautiful, kind face, the very same face which produced that jackpot smile, had collapsed. Shock filled her black eyes, and her upper lip quivered.

I pulled free of Vanilla. "Sam!"

The shock turned to horror and Sam turned and fled, pushing her way through the crowd.

"Sam!"

I pursued her. She was an all-fours now. Her legs were only short, but she was pretty fast. I quickly lost sight of her, but from the bemused reactions of the people in the crowd she ran past I knew which way she was going.

I managed to get to the front door before her. She dashed out between the legs of a group of human girls standing nearby and stopped dead. She'd spotted me.

"Sam!"

Tears stained her cheeks, her usually perky ears and tail lying slack. She glanced to one side, trying to work out whether she could just run past me, but she decided not to.

I took a step forward.

"Please," said Sam. She stared at the floor, unable to look at me. "Please don't."

"Sam, let me explain!"

She shook her head. "It's okay," she said. "I... understand." She looked up. She was smiling, a brave smile that clashed with the despair in her moist eyes. "I…. I know you don't feel the same way about me. I just thought…. Tem just thought maybe you liked her. But Tem was being silly, like usual."

The human girls were watching us now. They had their heads together, whispering over the sound of the music. When Sam's voice broke into Temmie there was laughter from somewhere in the crowd.

"Sam, listen to me. I..." I had to raise my voice and all eyes fell on me. The sick sense of being a spectacle made my stomach turn, but I pushed through it. "There's nothing between me and Vanilla. She's just a friend of Spence's."

Sam's eyes grew hard. I knew she thought I was lying. She shook her head, but still managed to smile.

That smile was the hardest thing to take.

"Hooman doesn't need to explain," she said. "Tem understand. Hooman was just being friendly to Tem and Tem got wrong idea again." A tear appeared at the corner of one glistening eye, making a lie of her brave words, and she brushed it away with a paw. "Thank you for being Temmie's friend."

"Sam!"

She turned and began to walk towards the door. There wasn't any laughter from the crowd any more. Sam's heartbroken words had chased it away.

"Sam! Wait!"

She shook her head and kept walking. The people clustered around the doorway made way for her.

This was it. I knew that if she walked out that door there was no going back. I wouldn't be able to message her and put everything back together again. There'd be no more studying together in the library, no more seeing her juggle crockery at the cafe, no more sharing her laptop cheek-to-cheek, no more snuggling up together on the couch and watching terrible TV. No, the next time I'd see her would be during the finals, a face across the hall, and then that would be it.

The thought flooded me with horror, but not the horror of losing a friend. No, this was a deeper emotion, a dark panic that I was about to lose a precious chance at happiness and regret it for the rest of my life.

"Sam!"

Her ears pricked up, but she ignored me and walked faster.

I knew if I called out to her again she'd break into a run and be out those doors and I'd never catch her. So I ran up behind her, slipped my hands under her forelegs and scooped her right up off the floor.

"Uwawawa!" she cried, twisting and kicking her hind legs in the air as she tried to slip from my grasp.

I stood there for a heartbeat with the little creature squirming in my hands. I'm sure the whole situation looked bizarre to everyone watching us, but at that moment I didn't care. The only thing I cared about was her.

I turned her around so she was facing me. "Temmie," I said. "Temmie, stop. Please listen to me."

She stopped kicking and stared at me, her dark eyes wet, her lashes dewed with tears. Using her real name had done the trick.

"Temmie, I… I don't want to just be friends."

She blinked. "Wat… wat is hooman saying?"

What the hell was I saying? I'd snatched her up off the ground without any idea of what I was going to do after that, let alone what I was going to say to her. And now everyone was staring at us.

I decided then there was no point saying anything. Words are cheap, right? And sometimes, even when you feel something for real, trying to put that feeling into words just cheapens it.

So I brought my lips to hers and kissed her.

Her lips parted and I felt the warm sweet air of a gasp escape. I'd intended to give her a peck, just enough to let her know how I felt, but as I moved away, Sam slipped her arms around my neck and stopped me. She pushed her lips back against mine and I felt the tiniest tap of a hot, wet tongue. I met it with my own and tasted sweetness.

But just for a moment. Sam pulled away. Her face had transformed, her eyes hooded, her lips slack. She looked just like she had after she'd eaten those Temmie flakes.

"Uwa," she murmured.

"Wow," I said.

The crowd erupted. People started applauding and whooping, and there were scattered shouts of "Get a room!" and "Go dude!" and other dumb shit people shout in this kind of situation.

I almost dropped Sam in surprise. Her eyes darted left and right and a blush poured over her open-mouthed face.

"Uh, let's get out of here," I said. I took a step still carrying her, but then I stopped and placed her back on the floor. We ducked through the doors and into the coolness of the night, leaving the applause and banter behind.

The noise of the concert faded away as we half-ran out into the university grounds. Soon we slowed to a walk and I glanced down at Sam and laughed.

She blinked at my laughter, but then she joined in, too.

We walked down the avenue that divided the university in two, the tall lights setting the sandstone and glass aglow. Everything looked beautiful. Or was it just my imagination? My heart was full to overflowing with joy. I could have been walking through a post-apocalyptic war-zone with her and I would've still thought it was beautiful.

We were far enough from the cafeteria now. I didn't want anyone disturbing us. There was a low wall of sandstone here and I sat down. Sam clambered up beside me.

I smiled at her and she smiled shyly back. God, I felt like I was in high school again.

"Sorry," I said at last.

Sam blinked at me and frowned. "What for?"

"For picking you up like that. I know you hate it when people treat you like a -"

She shook her head. "I don't mind if you do it."

"Sam. Your accent-"

Her smile turned even shyer. "I… I know you like it when I speak Tem, but… but sometimes it's easier to express things in English."

Sam had her paws on either side of her and I placed my hand on the one nearest me. She sighed and scooshed closer, leaning against me. She wrapped her paw around my hand and sighed again.

I felt something soft and fluffy brush across my back. Her tail. It was wagging.

"Tem like sitting togever," she murmured. "Can see hooman face 2 face."

"You're speaking Temmie again."

She lifted a paw to her mouth. "Tem can't help speaking Tem soemtiems when she's happy."

"I'm happy too." I'd forgotten what it felt like to be happy. I slipped my arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the forehead.

"Nonono," she said, shaking her head and frowning. "Foerhead kiss n0t cute1!" She cradled my face in her paws and drew me down to kiss her properly.

This time, without a gawking crowd of well-wishers surrounding us, we weren't rushed. Sam's short little snout squished up against my nose as her warm lips pressed against mine. The tip of her tongue darted out to lick my lips, and I caught it and soon we were kissing deeply.

She was aggressive for such a little creature. Her tongue was just as stretchy as the rest of her was and as we kissed she found places I'd never even known about. When we broke the kiss at last, we both fell back gasping.

Sam sat back looking pleased with herself and licked her lips.

"Wow," I said. "Uh, I don't think I've ever been kissed like that before."

"Tem liek kiss," said Sam. "And hooman is sooo cute. :3"

I hugged her to me. After that first kiss I wanted more, and Sam, with a sigh, melted into my arms. I brought my lips to hers and they'd barely brushed against them when Sam hesitated and pulled away. She looked at me, her little black eyes moist and fragile.

"Hooman…. Hooman really liek Tem?"

"No," I said. "I like ice-cream. Like isn't the right word for what I feel for you, Temmie."

I pulled her closer. God, she was tiny. And she was hot, hot like a little jacket-potato. I guess it was all that fur she was covered in.

"Wat… wat is hooman saying?" she murmured into my neck.

"What hooman is saying..." I stroked her hair, my fingers slipping over her perky little cat ears. What exactly was hooman saying? "I guess what hooman is saying is that he loves Tem."

With a cry of delight Sam leaped on top of me, pushing me over as she peppered my face with kisses. "Uwawawa! Temmie love hooman too! So, soooo much!" I crushed the little ball of warmth against me and intercepted her lips with my own. I kissed her, hard, and she kissed back with even more slobbery enthusiasm than before.

We were still kissing when someone called out to us from the lane-way. "Yeah man! Go for it! Monster-girl pussy! Wooo!"

Sam pulled away in alarm and I laughed. "Maybe… maybe we should go somewhere a bit more private."

Sam blushed and nodded, glancing shyly away. "Lavender told Tem she could hav apartment tonite, but Tem's bed just cardbored box and..." Her blush deepened.

I came to the little creature's rescue. "It's okay. My place isn't far away."

Her blush deepening, Sam climbed off me and I helped her down off the wall. We didn't see the guy who'd cheered us on, but we did get a lot of curious looks from various people as we made our way out of the campus.

The first time it happened, I took hold of Sam's paw. I knew she was worried what other people thought. But I no longer cared. My heart was pounding fit to break out of my ribcage.

When we finally arrived at my apartment I fumbled my keys but Sam caught them. She held them up for me and I was struck again by just how small she was. As I unlocked my door, I began to wonder just what the hell we were going to do. Sure, humans and Temmies could kiss, but could they…?

I pushed the door open and turned to her. "So, Sam, would you like a drink or-"

With a cry, Sam leaped up into my arms. I caught her, more by instinct than anything else, and stumbled back into the apartment as the little monster assaulted me with a frenzy of kisses. I juggled her around the furniture of my living room, making for the couch, but Sam shook her head, her lips still glued to mine.

"No, Tem needs bed. Rite! N0w!1"

I knew better than to argue with a girl in this sort of mood. I pushed the bedroom door open with a shoulder and flung Sam onto the bed. She landed on her back and bounced.

"Uwawawawa!"

I jumped onto the bed too and made a grab for her. "C'mere, Sam."

Sam feigned a gasp and rolled onto all fours to make a break for it but it was already too late. I grabbed her around the shoulders and flipped her onto her back again.

She lay there, blinking, as I held down her forepaws and leaned over her. God, I really was big in comparison to her. Would... would this really work out?

Sam noticed my hesitation and a frown slipped onto her pretty lips. I leaned down and kissed it away.

As we kissed I slipped my hand up along her foreleg till I met her sleeve. I began toying with the material but Sam took hold of my hand and brought it to her chest.

So she didn't want to wait. I didn't want to wait, either. I unbuttoned her top, my fingers fumbling with the tiny buttons in my excitement. I broke the kiss so I could concentrate and I soon had them all undone.

Sam lay there, her top loosely open, looking up at me, her tiny dark eyes shy. I knew the look. Every girl has it the first time you start undressing them, that mixture of excitement and vulnerability, nervously worrying whether you'll find their naked body attractive.

But I was already as hard as diamonds. Sam was a great kisser, and her tongue was able to perform tricks impossible for any human girl. Having your tongue wrapped by your lover's was something I'd never experienced before and I knew it would quickly become a habit.

A smile slipped onto Sam's face. She knew I was worked up and the fact she was responsible pleased her. Emboldened, she drew open the top of her blouse with a paw. She was wearing a bra underneath, well, more a training bra like little kids wear, white, with a cute pink ribbon. It was adorable. She wasn't stacked at all and I was pretty surprised she was wearing anything on her chest, actually.

I wanted to see more, so I flipped aside the rest of her top to reveal her smooth pink tummy and slipped my hand over it. Her belly was soft, flesh rather than fur, round like the rest of her short-stack body, and she giggled and gasped as my fingers slipped over her little outie belly button.

"Hoo- hooman's hand… soooo gentle."

I leaned down and kissed her belly button. She gasped again and placed a paw on my head as I began to kiss her tummy all over. I've always enjoyed a woman's stomach and there was something about the voluptuous softness of a round Temmie-tummy that made it even better.

Sam began to squirm. I knew better than to tease her too much. I didn't want her to think that I was nervous about seeing her fully naked. I guess I was, though. I really should have read a book on Temmies to know what to expect, but all of this had escalated pretty quickly. Well, how different could she be?

I unzipped the side of her little skirt and tried to pull it down but it got stuck almost immediately. Sam wiggled her hips and I pulled again, but no luck. She lifted her hips, then, and reached back behind her.

"Tem's tale," she muttered.

I'd forgotten all about her tail, squished between her body and the mattress. I struggled for a while but it was still too difficult, so I flipped her over onto all fours. I lifted the hem of her skirt with one hand while she pulled her tail out of the little slot made in the skirt for it. I got a nice view of her panties while I did so – they were surprisingly adult compared to her bra, white and lacy, and they were covering a curvy and shapely little butt.

Sam wiggled her hips as I finally got her skirt off and she slipped her forelegs out of her top at the same time. She was left only in her training bra and those fancy panties, her fluffy tail wagging madly.

The sight of her happy wagging and her sexy round little body drove me over the edge. I grabbed her around her thighs and buried my face in her pantied butt, kissing and lightly biting at the soft flesh underneath. Sam gasped and squirmed and play-struggled, but I wasn't going to let her go.

I was enveloped in a delicious, rich scent which I immediately recognised. It was that savoury cotton-candy smell I'd smelled when we'd been watching TV on her couch together. I breathed it in. It wasn't perfume, but the intimate scent of an excited Temmie.

I wondered if she tasted as good as she smelled.

Taking her pants off was much easier – there was a little loop rather than a slot for her tail and with trembling hands I undid the ribbon. Then I slipped both thumbs into the waistband of her pants and drew them down slowly.

This has always been my favourite moment, when you finally see just what you're in for with a girl. I was no longer worried about our differences. They really didn't mean anything. I needed to see Sam's nakedness.

The globes of her little butt-cheeks were revealed. They were covered like the rest of her in that light, soft down which seemed to be everywhere except for her tummy. I gave each cheek a gentle kiss and pulled her pants down lower. They stuck for a moment between her admittedly round thighs, but Sam parted her legs and I got them out and drew them down to her knees, drawing a thin, sticky thread of her excitement from her hidden sex as I did so.

Her amazing scent intensified. I pulled her pants down off her stubby little legs and tossed them aside. Unable to hold back any longer, I slid a hand onto each cheek of her amazing little butt and gently parted it.

Well, what do you know? A Temmie's furriness doesn't extend to the crack of their butt or their mound, although there was an adorable little tuft where a human girl would have pubic hair. My parting of her revealed her little pink sex, surprisingly puffy, the slit an even deeper pink and glistening with her excitement.

Sam was panting now. Her tail had stopped wagging when I parted her cheeks and now, as I leaned forward and buried my lips and tongue in her delightful heat and fragrance, it jerked straight up in the air and she cried out.

Sam was even more delicious than she smelled. Her little slit gave up copious juices and my lips were soon wet with her. She moaned and panted and wiggled her butt as I ate her out, my heart racing, my dick getting impossibly harder. God, her flavour was like a mainline of viagra between my legs. Was this some kind of Temmie magic, or was it just her?

Soon Sam was shivering… no, vibrating. The whole of her was vibrating like she had that time in her apartment. The entire bed started shaking and it was all I could do to hold onto her and keep up my assault on her delicious little slit and butt with my tongue.

Finally I pulled away, gasping, and Sam slumped forward with a moan, deflating like a punctured balloon.

"Tem feel soooo…. soooo good!" she muttered into the mattress.

I realised then she was still wearing her bra. It was a kid's bra, but it had a latch and I leaned over and unhooked it.

Sam gasped, her paws flying up onto her chest, and she tried to squirm away, but I rolled her onto her back and wrestled her for the bra, laughing.

She didn't fight very hard and I soon slipped the straps off her forelegs and pulled the bra away. Her paws flew to her chest.

"Nonononono," she cried. "Tem… Tem's bo0bies are…!"

I leaned over and kissed her. "There's no need to be shy," I whispered. "I want to see all of you, Sam."

Sam stared at me, her little dark eyes wide as I pulled away, a string of saliva hanging between our lips. She stopped fighting back and I slowly drew her paws down.

She turned her face away. "Tem sorry that… Tem's b0obies so small. Small bo0bies n-not cute :("

"Oh no," I said, grinning. "Small boobies very cute."

With her paws out of the way two little puffy mounds with pink nipples were revealed. She wasn't kidding that her boobs were small. She was almost totally flat-chested. But her adorable shyness and embarrassment just made me even more aroused and I dove onto her chest, sucking first one and then the other little breastlet into my mouth.

Her flesh was softer here, but after a few moments her nipples grew hard against my lips. She was so small I could draw my tongue back and forth between her breasts and give the same attention to both little bumps with just a turn of my head.

"Uwa, uwa!" Sam gasped, throwing her head back and forth. Like most flat-chested girls, her nipples were super sensitive and I delighted in teasing her. Her intimate scent became stronger, that beautiful buttered cotton-candy smell, and I let go of one paw and let my hand drop down between her parted legs.

I flicked my thumb back and forth over her slick little bump and she gave a series of anguished little cries. Then I slipped first one and then another finger inside her and massaged her as I kept up my assault on her boobs.

She was soon a squirming, moaning mess. I could have kept it up all night, so cute were her moans and her shivering and the way her tail tried to wag even though it was stuck between her body and the mattress, but suddenly she put her paws on my forehead and pushed me away.

She scrambled up onto her haunches and blinked at me blearily. Her hair was a disaster, her eyes hooded, her eye-shadow smeared, a string of drool dripping from the corner of her mouth. Then her eyes slowly came into focus and a grin burst across her face. She leaped on top of me and I quickly found myself with a heavy little Temmie pushing me down and covering my face with slobbery kisses.

"N0t fair," she muttered as her tongue slipped all over my lips and nose and chin. "Tem having all teh fun. But n0w it's Tem's turn to maek hooman feel good! :3"

She backed up, her tongue slipping down my neck as she unbuttoned my shirt. With her stretchy forelegs she soon had every button undone and I sat up to help her slide my shirt off my back. But once it was off Sam pushed me right back down again. She kissed my chest, smothering her face in my hair and licking at my nipples.

I moaned. I've always loved it when a girl licks my nipples and Sam's tongue was an incredible hot and agile little poker, but she quickly turned her attention to my lower half. She kissed her way down across my stomach until she was staring at my crotch.

I pulled myself up on my elbows and she looked up at me, grinning like a cat that had caught a bird. She fumbled at my belt buckle, but even using paws she quickly had it unbuckled, unzipped my pants and started pulling them off.

As soon as they were down she scrambled back up to where I was lying, now wearing only my underwear. I was hard as a rock, my dick lewdly peaked, and Sam let out a little "Uwa!" as she brought both her paws to the cotton-covered mound.

She didn't wait. She grabbed the waistband of my underwear in her paws and pulled them down. My dick sprang free, looking monstrous before her. Her mouth hung open, falling off her face in her surprise.

"Hooman soooo big!" she whispered. "But sooooo cute 2!"

She reached forward with a paw and touched me, gently. I gasped at the sensation of that warm soft paw running across the head of my dick. Shit, I was sensitive. The flavour and smell of her was still thick on my tongue and her licking of my nipples had made me delirious with desire.

Sam didn't tease me for long. She gripped my dick at the base between her paws and slid her mouth down onto me. Enveloped in that exquisite liquid heat I cried out and lifted my butt off the bed as she bobbed her head up and down, giving me a masterful blowjob.

After a few moments of indescribable pleasure, she drew her lips off by degrees.

My dick popped out, red and slick with her saliva, and Sam, her eyes hooded, muttered a quiet "Uwa." Then she began basting my entire length with her cute pink tongue, paying particular attention to the slit. All the while she stroked the bottom part of the shaft with her paws, the soft pads feeling amazing against my hardness.

Sam slipped my dick back into her mouth and soon the tip of her tongue, sliding all over the underneath of the head, had me moaning and gripping the mattress beneath me as pleasure pumped along my spine.

'Uh, uh Sam," I gasped. "Slow.. slow down. I'm.. I'm going to..."

"N0!1" cried Sam, letting me pop out of her mouth. "N0t yet!" She took a step back and watched my dick jerking, her eyes wide. I bit my lip and willed myself not to explode. Thoughts of leaving Sam horny and unsatisfied and of not enjoying that glorious sticky spot between her legs managed to pull me back from the brink.

Still trembling from the waves of my almost-orgasm I leaned down and grabbed Sam under the arms and pulled her up to kiss me. God, she was tiny. I'd never been with anyone as small as her and the novelty was incredibly exciting. Her tongue was hot and salty and hungry as we kissed, and I used the opportunity to run my hand down her sides and over her incredible little bubble-butt and round thighs. My eyes were closed as I enjoyed the deliciousness of the kiss, but I could feel the soft bat-bat of her tail as she wagged it happily.

I broke the kiss and as she gasped with her wet lips against my neck I asked her if she was ready.

"Ya ya," she whispered. "Tem ready."

"It's just," I murmured. "Sam, do you really think you can take all of me? I mean, I'm not huge, but a human and a Temmie..."

Her tongue flicked across my skin in a half-lick Temmie kiss. "No, it 0kay. Temmies verry stretchy, everywhere!"

Maybe she was right, but my heart was still racing as I flipped her onto her back and leaned over her. With her beneath me, our size difference was even more noticeable. I completely covered her. Her eyes went wide as I gently parted her thighs. She was absolutely sodden between her legs, her juices literally dripping. I bent forward, guiding the head of my dick against her and stroked it across her swollen little button until she cried out.

Damn. This was it. I'd soon find out whether humans and Temmies could actually do it. I eased my hips forward and my shaft slowly disappeared in between the soft, slick folds of her sex.

I was enveloped straight away in pure heat and gooeyness. Sam cried out and for a panicked moment I thought I'd hurt her. I began to pull away but her eyes flew open and she cried out "No!1! Don't leav Tem!"

Her paws stretched out, encircling my waist, and pulled me back against her. I slid full length inside her and it was my turn to cry out. I don't know exactly where all the space was coming from, but I ended up in her sticky centre of pleasure right up to the hilt. I luxuriated there, blissfully enjoying the feeling of her wrapped around me. God, she was a tiny little thing but she had just the right amount of give to accommodate me fully.

I leaned down and kissed her as I drew myself out slowly, enjoying every moment of her sliding off my shaft. Sam gasped against my lips then cried out again when I slid back into her.

We soon found a good rhythm together, fast rather than slow. Sam wouldn't let me go too slow. She seemed to enjoy feeling me fill her up and whenever I pulled out too far her forelegs wrapped around me and pulled me straight back in.

Somehow I found hidden reserves of willpower to keep from exploding there and then into her hungry little womb. I dipped my tongue into her mouth, enjoying her pleasure-filled gasps and little cries as our hips came together.

The position quickly became a bit painful on my neck, since to kiss and thrust into her at the same time meant I needed to lean over constantly. Sam quickly understood my grimaces and unwrapped her paws from around my waist and pushed me onto my back.

"Tem's turn n0w!" she said, grinning at me as she clambered astride my erection. She gave an experimental bounce and I groaned. The sound delighted her and she bounced again, gasping out an "Uwa!" of her own as I speared up into her.

She was right, she was stretchy! She lay forward on all fours, her paws on my chest, her face delirious with pleasure as she began to hump me in earnest. With the pressure off my neck and back, I was able to lie there, relaxed and blissful, while she did all the work.

Sam's tail wagged back and forth, her dog-ears flopping about as she bounced her round little butt up and down on me and panted. I couldn't resist gripping her around her ample hips: her body, which had seemed so cute and funny the first time I'd seen her, was driving me out of my mind with lust now. I squeezed those amazing thighs, ran my fingers up over her incredible round little butt and stroked the base of her fluffy tail.

Sam's eyes flew open. "Oh ya ya ya! Please... plz play with Tem's tail. Tem's tale… soooo sensitiv!"

Hearing her plea, I ran my fingers along the underside of her tail, then back down to play with the soft, curvy cheeks of her butt. I squeezed them and Sam's mouth slipped open and she began to drool. So a Temmie's tail was sensitive, just like she said, but she liked me playing with her butt, too. I smiled to myself. I was learning a lot about Temmies tonight – Sam really was an amazing little tutor.

I knew I couldn't last much longer, but luckily Sam was getting close, too. Her eyes were hooded, her cheeks flushed, her mouth wide open, panting, as she humped herself up and down on my hardness. I held her around the waist and guided her. Truth was, despite all her talk about Tem's being stretchy, I was still worried I might go too deep and hurt her. But Sam was in total control and she knew now what we both liked.

"Tem… geting… cl0se…!" she panted.

"Me too," I gasped. The sexy sight of the adorable little monster wholly possessed by me had brought me to the brink, almost as much as the incredible surges of pleasure being driven along my spine with her every bounce.

"Tem… Tem… cant st0p!"

"Don't hold back," I gasped. "Don't stop!"

Her little body was a blur now. No, wait, she was vibrating again! The whole of her body was vibrating, sending shivers along my fingers and down my arms, to say nothing for what it was doing for my dick. It was too much. I drove deep into her one final time as she thrust her hips down and threw her paws forward, grinding herself against me. Her face contorted in ecstasy and she pawed at my chest as I felt her grow blistering hot around my shaft.

"Tem… Tem cumMing!"

With a cry I came as well. I fell over that precipice, driving myself up into her balls-deep as I splattered her womb with what felt like gallons of semen. I didn't stop coming for a long time and with every spurt Sam gave a happy little cry and twitched her tail.

With a final spurt I fell back, gasping out my pleasure. Sam slumped forward as well, her front paws kneading my chest. Her hair was slick with sweat, her dog and cat ears slack with exhaustion. I crushed her to me, filled with love for the little Temmie, not wanting to be parted from her so soon.

At last I grew soft and popped out, eliciting a final soft "uwa" from Sam. She woke from her daze and gazed up at me, a tired smile on her drool-speckled lips.

"Hooman filled Tem's tummy all up," she murmured, her words making her blush. She pushed her face against my chest and I stroked my fingers along her back and down her round butt.

I chuckled. "God," I said. "I don't think I've ever come that much." I could feel the sticky pool cooling between us but I was so happy and worn-out I couldn't care less about it.

I started drifting off to sleep, but a sudden panic gripped me and I jerked awake "Uh, Sam?"

"Wah?" She opened her eyes again. She'd been on the point of falling asleep, too.

"Uh, are you on the pill?"

She looked up at me blearily, but then, understanding, she smiled.

"Dont worry, Tem can't get pragnent, even tho hooman came so much. Tem not in estrous. Tem… only… can… hav... puppies… if… she… during... estrous."

Then she began to snore.

The poor little thing. She really had done the majority of the work. Still, I felt just as worn out and moved to slip myself from under her. But Sam muttered and curled up on top of my torso like a dog and continued to snore.

I ran my fingers through her hair and scratched her behind the ears, immediately feeling a bit weird for doing so. But my caresses made her smile and she nuzzled her short little muzzle into my chest.

I sighed. There'd be no moving her now. Oh well. It wasn't like she was heavy or anything. I stroked my fingers from the top of her head to the base of her tail and I was still doing that when I fell asleep, too.

I was sitting at the cafe, enjoying the last few sips of my tall macchiato when I received a resounding slap on the back.

"Dude!"

It was Spence, of course, with Hannah in tow.

"Oh hey," I said. "Look sorry about last night. I –"

Spence shook his head and grinned. "Hey, you had to do what you had to do. How did Sam take it?"

I glanced at Hannah and then back at Spence. "Pretty well, all things considered," I said, trying hard not to smile.

"Yeah, well," said Spence. "You know, Vanilla doesn't really take no for an answer. She gave me her number." He fished around for his phone.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I'm going to be a bit too busy to go out for a while."

Spence frowned.

I raised my eyebrows. "The finals?" I prompted.

"Oh yeah," he said. "The finals. So how are they looking?"

"Good," I said. "Luckily I found a great tutor." I quickly downed the last of my coffee and stood up. "I'll have to catch up with you guys later. I have to study. My tutor should be getting off right around..."

A familiar voice called my name and Sam came bounding out from the cafe, her backpack over her shoulder. She stopped dead when she saw Hannah and Spence and she looked to me, a flash of discomfort on her little face.

I knew what she was thinking. I knelt down and threw my arms around her and kissed her.

"Uwa," she murmured, her eyebrows jerking up high off her face in surprise as she kissed me back.

I broke the kiss, but kept my hands around her waist. Spence and Hannah were staring at me. Spence's mouth was hanging open almost as low as a Temmie's could, but Hannah was sporting a grin.

"Well, enjoy your study session," she said. She grabbed Spence and began pulling him away, but just as quickly stopped. "Hey, if you're not too tired after your studying, want to meet up for a few drinks later?" Her eyes flicked playfully to Sam. "Study-buddies are welcome."

"Girlfriend's too?" I asked.

She laughed and nodded. "Girlfriends too."

Spence, still shocked, raised his hand in a hesitant farewell and then they were gone.

Sam turned to me, her dark eyes wide and fragile. "You're really… you're really not embarrassed to be seen with me?" she whispered.

I stared at her. "Why would I be ashamed of being seen with someone as smart and beautiful as you, Sam?"

The little monster burst into tears and leaped up into my arms. "Tem loev hooman!" she cried, smothering my mouth in sloppy Temmie kisses.

"Hooman loev Temmie, too," I replied, kissing her back. "Soo, soo much!"

The End

Note: The reason why Sam didn't answer her phone is because she dropped it in the toilet.


End file.
